The Power is On
by rowanred81
Summary: The follow-up to Rebel Girl, completed! Enjoy the fucking suspense! It's two months later and things have settled down in Arcadia Bay. Max and Chloe are relatively happy, but the past lingers in Max's mind. What else has lingered?
1. Chapter 1

_**Afterimage**_

 __Max Caulfield wasn't sure about this. Fidgeting in her chair, she sat with her eyes closed while muttering "It's going to be okay" over and over like a mantra. Her hands gripping the armrests tightly, all she could hear was the buzzing sound echoing through the small room. Feeling hands softly brushing the nape of her neck, Max flinched slightly at the surprising touch. Hearing a chuckle from behind her, Max smirked and opened one eye without looking at the mirror opposite her position in the bathroom.

"Dude, please don't laugh," Max pleaded to Chloe Price as Chloe stood behind Max with a pair of clippers in her hand, "I'm anxious enough as it is. I don't need you going all 'mad scientist' on my head, Chlo."

"Chill, Max, and lower your head some. Unless you _really_ want to worry," Chloe replied.

Max couldn't see her face, but _knew_ Chloe probably had a mischievous look on her face. Sighing, Max shut her eyes again and trying to let her mind associate the buzzing with something calming. The sound _did_ remind Max of those massage chairs they'd used in Portland a few weeks ago. Finally catching up on her homework, Max had broken the news to Chloe that she was free that weekend on Friday night. They'd driven up to Portland that next morning and spent the entire weekend exploring the city. Chloe had a blue butterfly tattooed between her shoulder blades, making it look like the wings were flapping when she stretched out her arms. Not quite ready for something that permanent, Max had declined when Chloe was finished. They'd seen a couple bands play, bought some clothes, and Chloe had scored some new types of weed that she hadn't found in Arcadia Bay. Overall, Max had to admit she had a lot of fun that weekend. _With school keeping me so busy lately, I need to make time for Chloe. She practically pounced on me this morning when I showed up at the front door, it was so cute,_ Max thought as the clippers were shut off behind her. Max felt Chloe wipe off loose hair with a soft brush, and Max opened her eyes as Chloe took the towel out from around Max's neck.

"Damn, Max, I _am_ good," Chloe said as she looked in the mirror, "C'mon, Max, just _look._ "

Max looked up. The sides and back of her head had been cut short, but not buzzed all the __way down to the scalp. Max could still run her fingers through it. The hair on the crown of her head was still just as long as before, tied up so that a little tuft of hair was hanging over the back of her head in a little cluster of spikes. Chloe had combed her bangs so that they were hanging over Max's forehead. Max blushed a deep red as the reality of this sunk in. _Crap, I can't believe I let Chloe do this. This is gonna draw hella attention when I go back to Blackwell tomorrow._

"Che...," Max said, her voice warbling to match her nervousness.

"Relax, Maxi-Pad," Chloe said, grinning as Max pouted.

"You know I can't stand being called that," Max barked, sticking out her tongue jokingly.

"Take the tail down, and comb it how you normally wood, Max-a-roon."

Max did as Chloe requested and was surprised to see how little you could tell the difference. _Of course_ I _know it is different - it's my freakin' head. But if someone saw me in the hall, they might not notice._ Combing her hair a couple more times, Max turned to look at Chloe.

"So," Chloe started, "Is it alive?"

Max laughed then raised her arms up. "It's _alive_!"

"What is going on up there?" from a voice downstairs suddenly killed the mood. Rolling her eyes, Chloe opened the door and looked down the stairway to see David looking up to meet her gaze.

"Chill, David! I'm just cutting Max's hair, for fuck's sake!" Chloe said. Things had become...amicable, between her and David over the last couple months. David helping Max and Chloe hide after Nathan Prescott was detained helped, as well as setting up a restraining order. Max noted that Chloe still referred to him sometimes as "step-douche", so things could be better.

"Just...just keep it down, Chloe. Okay?" David said in exasperation, walking down the hallway and out of Chloe's line of sight.

Making an audible _ugh_ , Chloe went back to the bathroom to find Max playing with her new hair. Max had placed the uncut hair back in the tail Chloe had set up and looked expectantly at Chloe.

"I want you to want me...I need you to need me," Chloe crooned at Max, grinning as she moved to tickle the sheepish girl in the ponytail. Max batted Chloe's hands away and tickled Chloe instead, with Chloe clamping her arms down to her sides. Max's hands trapped under her arms, Chloe's tilted her head down till her face was inches from Max's. "You ready to mosh, 'Shaka Brah'?"

"Dog, Che, are you ever going to stop reminding me I said that?" Max said, rolling her eyes but smirking. Max leaned up, hands still pinned, and kissed Chloe. The kiss held for a moment before Max broke it, then slid her hands out from Chloe's arms. "C'mon, we need to clean this up."

"Hey now, Max. I'm the captain of this boat. You want a job? Swab my fucking poop deck," Chloe said ruefully, then began helping Max clean all the hair off the floor.

With Thanksgiving over, students had begun trickling back into the dorms over the weekend. It was Saturday evening now, and the girls' dorm was about half-full. _Some probably won't be back until right before the first bell goes off_ , Max thought, looking over to Victoria Chase's closed door. Chloe in tow, Max had kept her hair up and was anxious to see what Dana would say. Over the two months, the friendship that had started between Max with Dana and Juliet had grown to the point that Chloe had begun to consider them friends too. _Chloe always acts so tough, except around me. I like both sides of her, though, and enjoy how tender she can be when it is just the two of us,_ Max thought as she knocked on Dana's door, looking at Chloe. Chloe wasn't paying attention, looking off into Dog-knows-where, but caught Max's glance out of the corner of her eye and leaned over to give her a quick kiss.

"Gotta be stealthier than that, Blackwell Ninj-," Chloe started.

"Oh my god, Max! That looks so cool!" Juliet exclaimed as she opened the door and saw Max's new haircut, "Dana, seriously, get your butt over here and check out Max's new style!"

Juliet and Dana looked exactly the same as they had months ago when the three opened up to each other. _You two are always so pretty,_ Max thought, _you're like models._ Dana walked to the doorway and Max tried not to laugh as Dana's jaw dropped. With Juliet grabbing Max by one hand and Dana tugging Chloe in by the arm, the four girls made their way into Dana's room. Dana turned switched the newly-added lock over, hearing a satisfying _click_. _It took a creeper like Nathan Prescott to get locks added to our doors,_ Max thought. _Wonder what it'll take to get any more security. A zombie apocalypse?_

Dana played with Max's hair for a few minutes, Juliet talking Chloe's ear off with her Thanksgiving holiday. Max grinned wryly at Chloe, who was trying to feign interest in Juliet's gamut of interests. From designer clothes to investigative journalism, Juliet interests were incredibly varied, which made her fun to talk to for Max. _Chloe thinks she's too chill for Juliet's stream-of-consciousness discussions, but if she didn't care she would not even pretend to be interested. I'm rubbing off on_ you _, Che._

"So, Max, what have you two been up to over the holiday?" Dana asked, sitting cross-legged on her bed next to Juliet. Max took a seat next to Chloe on the couch and felt Chloe wrap her arm over Max's shoulder. Contently, smiling, Max looked up at Dana and Juliet and blushed a dark shade of red - Dana and Juliet were grinning over how cute Max looked when no one thought she noticed her reactions to Chloe.

"Uh, well, we really just relaxed. Hung out, watched movies, listened to music. Y'know, the usual," Max said awkwardly. Chloe looked over at Max with an expression of _That's not all we did, Max_ and Max blushed even more. Dana must have sensed something unspoken because she thankfully turned the conversation toward her vacation, going into intricate detail that allowed Max time to cool down. Max listened attentively, trying halfheartedly to ignore Chloe's hand sliding off her shoulder and moving down to the small of her back. _Urgh, not now, Che!_ The conversation lasted for about an hour before Max excused herself and Chloe, saying she still had some homework to do for Mr. Jefferson's class and wanted to get it done so she could unwind some tomorrow before classes resumed the following day. Wishing Juliet and Dana a good night, Max pulled Chloe over to her room. Flustered from Chloe's teasing, Max nearly dropped her key as she unlocked her door, pulling Chloe in by the collar once she'd turned on the paper lanterns hanging overhead in her room.

"Dude, not funny," Max said, punching Chloe in the arm jokingly, "I know you like to tease, Che, but Jesus fuck."

"But you're cute when you're flustered," Chloe said, her face a mask of mock innocence as she gave Max puppy eyes and a pout.

Max rolled her eyes and punched Chloe in the arm again, eliciting a slight "Ow" from the taller woman as Max went to check on her plant. _You're a little dry, Lisa, so here. Drink up,_ Max thought to herself as she watered her plant. Turning on her desk lamp, Max turned to see Chloe fall onto Max's bed.

The photo 'wall' had spread to above the door to her room, the addition of several newer photos spreading the collection out. Max looked at some of the newer ones and chuckled to herself. _Me and Chloe at Dana's Halloween party. I looked so goofy as Harley Quinn, but Chloe was ridiculously hot as Joker. There's another one of Dana, Juliet, and Kate. I had thought Kate would go as an angel, but Dana had convinced her and Juliet for all three of them to dress up as the Three Amigos_. _Oh, there's the selfie I took at the movie theater with Chloe. Our first actual 'date'. I don't remember much about the movie, but I heard it was pretty good._ Max walked to the couch and rifled through her bag, pulling out a handful of stacked pictures. Flipping through them, Max selected a shot of Chloe sitting at Two Whales, in mid-bite of a pancake, and taped it onto the wall. Hearing a slight metal _ping_ , Max turned around as Chloe rummaged through Max's cookie tin.

"I thought you weren't hungry, Che," Max said teasingly, a wry grin on her face. Chloe responded by smiling with a mouthful of cookie and flipping Max off.

Stretching, Max plopped into her chair and pulled the laptop out of her camera bag. Mr. Jefferson had asked them to create a digital collage that would be able to manifest a collective afterimage using all the images at once. Max had seen these types of works before, so for her it was just a matter of selecting specific pictures she'd taken and aligning them by color palette and positioning of each picture's subject. _I am a complete nerd,_ Max thought as she began to pattern the pictures to leave the afterimage of a smiley face, _I bet Victoria has some ridiculously fancy image of a statue or other piece of art._ Wrapping up the assignment, Max turned to look at Chloe, who looked exhausted.

"Ugh," Chloe said, pinching the bridge of her nose, "the sweetness. Dana and Juliet...there's just so much sweetness." Pretending to get sick, Chloe faked collapsing on the floor.

"You can be pretty sweet yourself, Che," Max retorted, amused, "Like when you wrote me that-"

"Shhh, one does not talk about things which have no place being spoken of here," Chloe replied in a wistful tone. _We watch_ way _too much Game of Thrones,_ Max thought as she moved to where Chloe was pretending to have collapsed.

Straddling the fallen Chloe, Max began to lightly tickle Chloe along her sides. Chloe's eyes snapped open. "Nononono, don't! Max, stop. Fucking cut it out, pastel hippie punk-ass ahh-hahaha!" Chloe tried to tickle Max in return, but remembered in frustration that Max wasn't ticklish anymore. Not like she was when she was a kid, anyway. Max was laughing, her mood lighter than it had been for awhile, when she felt a slight twinge from the back of her head. Immediately grabbing her head, Max squeezed her eyes shut.

"Max? Another headache?" Chloe asked, carefully helping Max to a seat on the couch.

"Yeah," Max said as she rubbed her temples, "Another side effect from the wonders of time travel, I guess." Getting up from the couch as the momentary bout of pain subsided, Max went to her computer one more time to double-check all her work due the coming week. Despite Chloe's near-constant demand for Max's time over the holiday, which had irked Max's parents as well as Max at times, she'd been able to complete most of her assignments and was close to being finished with the rest.

Max closed her laptop and turned to see Chloe had fallen asleep after climbing onto her bed. Max wanted to do nothing more than join the sleeping woman in bed, but she needed to shower and splash some cold water in her face. _A sleepy Max does not an assignment finish._ Gathering her shower supplies and a towel, Max slipped off her shoes and made her way out into the hall. The emptiness gave the hall a horror movie quality, the lighting dim and the silence only adding to the eeriness. Walking lightly as thought to not upset the quiet, Max made her way to the showers. Stripping down, Max turned on the cold water first and splashed herself in the face with some of it. Turning on the hot water after waking herself up, Max stepped the rest of the way into the shower and let the hot water wash over her. _So peaceful, so nice,_ Max thought when she heard a noise from the hall.

"Hello?" Max asked, peering out from behind the curtain. "Uh, who's there? If that's you, Chloe, it isn't funny."

Not hearing any response or further noise, Max almost didn't notice the envelope tucked halfway under her door after she had finished her shower. Thinking about something else as she entered her room, Max picked it up absentmindedly and tossed it by her Hi-Fi system. Chloe was still passed out in bed, so Max decided the time had come for a picture. With a bemused expression, Max covered the flash to her camera and snapped a picture of the sleeping woman. Grinning, Max laid the photo next to Chloe's head and picked the envelope back up. There was no name or anything, a plain white envelope. Using her room key, Max sliced open one of the envelope sides and a single picture fell out on the floor. Max went to pick it up, but froze in place as she saw the image.

The woman was naked, the photo manipulated to black out everything else around her. Max guessed by the pose that she was unconscious as the picture was less than flattering, but the woman's face was what caught her attention. The face was Max's, and on the back was a single sentence, written neatly in marker.

"You should have stayed quiet, Max."

 _Max Caulfield watched Chloe die before her eyes, over and over. First, it was the train tracks, then in the girls' restroom at Blackwell Academy. Over and over, Max was bombarded with visions of her girlfriend, her_ _ **heart**_ _, coming to a violent end._

 _"Max!" she heard Chloe scream at the train tracks._

 _"Max..." she heard as Chloe's head hit the restroom floor before growing silent._

 _Each time, Max felt as though a piece of her died along with Chloe. She would stand there, helpless and out of reach, only able to cry and scream as Chloe died. Then, time would rewind and the events would happen all over again. Max looked out at the train tracks as the engine blew its horn loudly, but not loud enough to drown out Chloe's pleas for help._

"Max! Max, wake up!" Max heard as her eyes snapped open. The room was dark, so for a moment she thought she might still be at the tracks. Her heart racing, Max nearly choked on her own breath when she felt two arms encircle her waist and a familiar voice speak to her in a comforting, hushed tone.

"Shhh, baby, shhh. You were having a nightmare. Damn, Max, you spend half our nights together crying in your sleep. Will you tell me _now_ about whatever it is that is bothering you, nerd?" Chloe Price asked, patting Max's back as she shifted one of her arms to press Max closer. Max sobbed into Chloe's t-shirt, her eyes shut tightly. Max wanted to shut out the world, leave only her and Chloe. _And no dreams, no pictures. Crap, why can't I get this all out of my head. I feel like I'm going freaking crazy_ , Max thought as she began to calm down. The dim light bulbs of the paper lanterns illuminated the room with a soft glow, and Max could see Chloe walking back toward the bed.

Climbing back into bed, Chloe spooned Max and kissed the nape of the grief-stricken woman's neck. _This is getting fucking bad, Max. I tell you it's only half, but this happens every night we're together. You just don't remember some of them because you were even more out of it than before,_ Chloe thought solemnly. Peeking over Max's shoulder from her spooning, Chloe saw the smaller woman's eyes looking toward her. Max shifted her body, turning while Chloe still held her, and looked into Chloe's eyes.

"Che...," Max said, kissing Chloe softly with lips wet from tears. Nuzzling her head under Chloe's chin, Chloe felt some relief when Max sigh contentedly. "Che, I wish that I never had to leave your arms."

"Max?" Chloe asked with a pensive tone.

"Mmm?"

"...What is going on? You hardly fucking talk to me, at least not about the deep stuff. We talk, but I feel like you're keeping something to yourself. Something that is, maybe, hella scary and you don't want to share."

Max looked up with a sobering expression, what contentment she'd had evaporating as the long nights of nightmares accumulated in her mind. Her heart felt like breaking every night this happened. Looking over her shoulder to see Chloe lying on her side, watching her, Max patted a spot on the bed next to her and Chloe slid over to Max, taking a seat alongside. Sighing heavily, Max looked at Chloe with a fearful expression in her eyes.

"Che, I dream...I dream of all the times where I watched you die. I'll see you on the tracks, and then I'll see you in the bathroom. Time will rewind and I'll see it all again a-and I'm _powerless_ to do anything. I hear you scream and it's like my heart wrenches itself together and implodes," Max said, sniffling and wiping the wetness from her cheeks. Feeling an arm come across her shoulders, Max looks up to see Chloe watching her with a pained look.

"Max, fuck, why didn't you tell me? How long has this been going on? It's fucking November, Max," Chloe asked concernedly. _This has been going on for weeks? Dude, what the hell. You should've told me._

"I was scared."

"Of what? Not of me?"

"No, just saying it out loud. Speaking about it makes it feel more real and not just nightmares."

"Max-a-roon...," Chloe said, taking Max's hands. Max felt her chest tightened as she saw Chloe's eyes begin to water, Chloe's face a mask of pain.

"Che. Hey, no no no. Look, I'm sorry for not telling you - I was afraid that my speaking about it would only bring you pain," Max said, placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"We shoulder each other's burdens, Max. Together, remember?" Chloe said more than asked, her voice resolute.

"Together. I'm sorry, Che."

"Don't be sorry. Just be fucking honest with me, yeah?"

Max and Chloe climbed back into bed, tired and weary from the emotional drain both women felt. Neither Chloe or Max slept easy, but at least they slept together, each woman a comfort for the other.

Chloe woke up the next morning to see Max looking at her, clutching something crumpled in her hand, but it was like Max wasn't registering anything around her. _Goddamn, she looks like she's about to fucking pounce on something._

"What's wrong?" Chloe asked, sitting up. Max walked up to the bed and dropped the crumpled photo in Chloe's lap. "Uh, what the fuck is this?"

"Just look," Max said, her tone unreadable.

Chloe straightened out the photo, then squinted as she tried to look at it more closely. _Wha-, is that Max? No, she wouldn't...someone photoshopped her on another person's body?_

 _"_ Max, what the hell is this?" Chloe asked, handing the picture back to Max with an edge in her voice, but Max simply gestured for her to turn the picture over. Chloe, still bleary-eyed, wiped at her face with one hand while smoothing the crinkles of the photo with her other hand. The message, now entirely visible to Chloe, sent a chill up through her body. "Dude, where did you get this?"

"It was left, Che, at my door last night. Did you hear anybody come near my door while I was showering?"

"Max, I was hella crashed. Seriously, is this some weird-ass prank? This shit makes me think of-"

"Nathan Prescott."

"Who is in jail, Max. Someone is fucking with you, maybe? Hopefully?"

Max sat down next to Chloe, leaning against her while staring at the photo.

"I don't think this is a joke, Chlo. If it is, it's a pretty crappy one," Max said, pulling her knees up to her chest and tossing the picture onto the couch.

Chloe didn't want to believe that the shit from two months ago could be coming back. _Nathan-fucking-Prescott is in a psych ward, for fuck's sake, no doubt pumped up with shit that could turn him into a barnyard animal or whatever!_ "What do you think it is?"

"A message that what I, we, did regarding Nathan has pissed someone off. Someone just as creepy."

"So, it's a prank then. Ha ha, joke's over," Chloe tried to say encouragingly as she took Max's hand, rubbing her thumb against Max's whitening knuckles.

"I've been pranked, Chloe. This isn't a prank. Whoever left that photo took the time to manipulate the image, black out everything but what's _supposed to be me_."

"I...I need some air, Max," Chloe said after a moment of silence between the two, getting up and leaving Max's room. Max stayed seated on the bed for a moment, then followed Chloe, locking her room behind her.

Max made it outside and watched Chloe come up from behind her and out to the courtyard. _When did I get ahead of Chloe_ , Max thought, then became dizzy as her eyes unfocused for a moment. _What...what was that?_ Leaning against a light post, Max looked out for where Chloe had gone and felt her chest lurch, her heart feeling like it had just stopped.

"Wowsers," Max said as she witness what played out before her.

Where Chloe had come out onto the courtyard, two paths had branched off. In one, Chloe had walked over to the totem pole on the hill and was leaning against it, smoking a joint. The other path showed Chloe continuing to walk along in the direction of the breezeway and main courtyard, looking like she was talking to someone. _Nononononono,_ was all Max could think over in her head, then jumped as Chloe came behind her.

"Sorry, Max. Had to stop off in the bathroom, rinse my face off. Hey, if you're gonna follow me, do you want to go for a drive?"

"Uh, sure Che. Sure," Max said, dumbfounded. As they began to walk, Max watched out of the corner of her eye as the Chloe over at the totem pole disappeared. Half-listening to Chloe talking to her, Max felt a dread wash over her as the Chloe who was walking along the same route they were seemed to overlay onto her Chloe, like coming back into sync. Max felt her eyes begin to tear as they made their way to the breezeway.

 _What the fuck is happening to me?_


	2. Chapter 2

Max Caulfield woke up this morning to an empty bed, and she couldn't help be feel a little heartbroken for it. _I've gotten used to waking up and seeing Chloe's sleepy, smiling face_ , _but I don't feel like that's a bad thing,_ Max thought as she sat up and stretched. Sliding out of bed, she gathered her shower supplies, toothbrush, and toothpaste for the bathroom. People were trickling in slowly. Dana's door was open, music quietly emanating from the doorway, and Alyssa was waiting by Stella's door. Max waved at Alyssa and chuckled when Alyssa waved back, then did a double-take at Max.

"Max, that's a new look for you," Alyssa said, in her usual matter-of-fact tone.

"Uh, yeah. I had it done yesterday. I just hope it looks okay," Max said, hugging her bathroom supplies to her chest awkwardly."

"It looks pretty cool, Max. Seriously." With that said, Alyssa pulled out her phone and began typing, Max's presence all but forgotten.

Entering the bathroom, Max walked into the only shower stall still open and quickly rinsed herself off. _Showered last night_ , _so I think I should be okay_. Drying herself off, Max put her clothes back on and went to brush her teeth when Victoria Chase walked into the bathroom with her own bath products. Victoria had not said much to Max since Max blew up at her a couple of months ago. _Didn't stop her from trolling me online or leaving messages on my slate, though,_ Max thought as her eyes and Victoria's met for a split-second.

"Victoria," Max said in a neutral tone.

"...Caulfield," Victoria said, trying to sound aloof as she crossed over to where Max was brushing her teeth, "What the fuck are you supposed to be, your girlfriend's sad attempt at a 'Mini-Me'? Hipster-gone-grunge?"

"Oh, do you smell that?" Max asked, wrinkling her nose and darting her eyes from one side to another.

"Smell what, freak?" Victoria said with an irritated, quizzical expression.

"That smell, it's like _the crap coming out of your mouth_ , Victoria," Max said, putting down her toothbrush and staring Victoria down.

Max, for the most part, had remained relatively quiet following the week where she had her time powers. She knew she'd become more assertive of herself, sure, but the awkwardness was still there. Except for Victoria Chase. _Maybe it's because she was so close to Nathan, maybe it's because of Kate, but I just can't keep my bile down when I see her. She brings out the harshest parts of me, and the worst part is I kinda like it sometimes_ , Max thought.

Victoria stared down Max for a minute or so. Rolling her eyes and muttering "whatever", Victoria took the open shower stall and closed the curtain with enough force that the other side of the curtain she hadn't yanked on shot open. Trying not to snicker, and failing, Max put away her toothbrush and left the bathroom with Victoria staring daggers at Max's back. Max turned the corner to find Kate waiting at Max's door. Seeing Max out of the corner of her eye, Kate turned to greet her friend and just stared at her. Max froze for a second, then remembered she had her hair up, Chloe's handiwork accessible for all the world to see.

"Max, that looks so...different on you," Kate said as Max opened her door. Max grinned at her and gestured for her to come in, then closed the door behind Kate.

"Yeah, different good? Or is it different _different_?" Max asked Kate as she went through her drawers, "I'm still kinda on the fence. I would love to wear it up, but I don't feel like getting stared at all day."

"It is a change, Max, but it kind-of suits you now."

"Now? As opposed to when?"

"As opposed to when you got here. I don't think super-shy Max could have pulled _that_ off."

Max paused for a moment, looked up from her drawers and gave Kate a bemused look, and pulled out her armor for the day. A black-and-white flannel shirt, her Jane t-shirt, and the black jeans Chloe had 'loaned' her from a couple months ago got tossed onto the couch beside her. Kate looked away bashfully as Max got dressed, then turned her gaze back to Max as the other girl sat on her couch to tie her shoes. Looking up in the midst of her shoe-tying, Max gave Kate a quizzical expression.

"You okay, Kate?" Max asked, concerned, "I mean, how are you? I didn't hear from you much over vacation." Max took a seat next to her friend on Max's bed and placed her hand on Kate's shoulder.

"I'm as best as can be expected. The therapy is still helping, which is good, and my family is being really supportive right now. The only issue I had over vacation was that they barely let me out of their sight," Kate said, laughing at the end. _This is the Kate_ _I'm so happy to see, the one who looks so hopeful at times. She's radiating light, such an angel._ "So, where's Chloe? I figured she would be here."

"Oh," Max said, with a hint of sadness in her voice, "We thought it best if she didn't sleep over last night. Y'know, classes starting back up and all." _The truth is, Chloe left because she got freaked out by my having this..whatever it is,_ Max thought as she moved to check her phone. The screen recently replaced, the wallpaper of her and Chloe from the photobomb in Chloe's bed from last October obscured by a notification from Chloe. Opening the chat thread, Max read off Chloe's texts.

 **Chloe:** Max, I'm sorry for taking off. I just need a moment to catch my breath in all this. You have fucking powers? Again?

 **Chloe:** Max, it's 1am and I'm looonely. Text me?

 **Chloe:** Hey, Max. Um, meet me out front around 8am? I know you have classes, but you still have time. Right? Two Whales?

 **Chloe:** Max? Maaaaaaxxx?

Max looked at the time on her phone - it was 7:45, and the last text was only a minute ago. Looking up at Kate, who was calmly observing Max's phone usage, Max smiled.

"Chloe," Max said, gesturing to her phone, "Hey, want to come with us to Two Whales? You have to be hungry," Max deflated a little when Kate simply shook her head.

"I already ate, but thanks Max," Kate said as she got up, then moved to the window when something caught her attention, "Besides, I think someone wants you all to herself," Kate finished, pointing down to the courtyard.

Max did not even need to look, having no doubt in her mind that Chloe was already outside the building, waiting impatiently. Sighing, Max walked Kate out of her room and out the door, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Waving at Dana through her doorway, Max took the stairs down two at a time. Max got to the door and peeked through the window and saw Chloe with her arms crossed, looking up in the direction of Max's room with a lit cigarette in her mouth. Grinning, Max opened the door quietly and snapped a picture of Chloe in that pose. The flash of the Polaroid camera caught Chloe's attention; she looked over and her eyes brightened with the sight of Max walking towards her. Standing on her tip-toes, Max met Chloe's lips in a soft, welcoming kiss, then playfully punched Chloe in the shoulder.

"What's that for?" Chloe asked, feigning injury.

"Che, I had one last night before classes started and you bailed," Max said, hand on her hip.

Walking with Max in the direction of the parking lot, Chloe looked over at Max and sighed a little.

"So, explain this to me, Max," Chloe said she linked her arm into Max's, "And explain to me how this isn't going to end in terrible fucking shit."

"You liked that I had powers before," Max said, though she knew where Chloe was going with this line of discussion.

"Yeah, it was a hella trip. At first. But if I had known it was going to end with you bleeding out of half your face and a hospital trip I don't think I would have been so down on you using it," Chloe continued with a sober expression, "So, explain it to me. The power, the side effects, everything."

"Well, it's like I can see some of the choices people are going to make," Max started, then looked up and saw Chloe's quizzical expression, "Okay, here's an example. You're going to do one of three things: continue walking with me, stop and walk by yourself, or kiss me right now."

"Okay..."

"I could suddenly see figments, images, of three Chloes. Each one is doing one of the things I listed. When you choose one, I see the other two disappear."

"So, you can see multiple futures now? Alternate realities? Dude, that's pretty fucking weird, and this is coming from a person who has seen you bend time and space. This is making my brain cry, Max," Chloe said as she scratched at her head.

"How do you think I feel, Che? It's not like I can control it. There's no magic hand gesture to switch it on or off this time. It just...it just happens," Max said, not really knowing what else was left to say.

"Well, how about you and I talk about that damn picture, then? Do you have any clue as to it's source?" Chloe asked as they reached her truck. Climbing in, Max pulled the picture out of her camera bag and Chloe made a disgusted face, "Ew, dude, you brought it with you?"

"I need to continue examining it for clues, for anything that might lead us to who left me this," Max said, looking the picture over. _This picture is disgusting, but whoever did this was elaborate with it. They planned this out, all the way to leaving it for me when the dorm was nearly empty. There's just too much detail in this photo to be random_. _Wowsers, were the past two months just a reprieve? Will I ever be left alone?_

Max looked over to Chloe as she started her truck. Max saw the seriousness in her face, but also the sadness in her eyes. Placing her hand on Chloe's knee, Max turned Chloe to face her with the remaining hand. Chloe's expression softened, but still seemed serious. Max took one of Chloe's hands and cradled it in both of hers, kissing the back of Chloe's hand.

"I don't know what is happening, Che, and I can't promise that everything will get better. All I can do is hope," Max said, letting Chloe's hand go and brushing some of the other woman's blue hair behind an ear.

"Max, I am not expecting any promises. I just want...I just want to have a fucking _chance_ , y'know? An opening for us to be able to get out of all this weird-ass shit," Chloe said as she drove the truck out of the Blackwell Academy parking lot, "We could always just leave Arcadia Bay. I have a chunk of the money left, and I can pick up cash doing tattoos. You could, I dunno, sell people photos of themselves at tourist locations." The last sentence made both girls chuckle.

"Yeah, because that would end up well. I might as well refer to myself as a 'starving artist' and wear sunglasses indoors," Max said, looking out the window.

Max was enjoying the passing scenery when she squinted from what looked like a flare of light across her vision. Covering her face with the back of her hand, Max felt like something was being burned into her eyes. The sensation fading a moment later, Max looked over at Chloe only to experience what felt like blurred vision. Max watched _three_ Chloes with their hands on three different steering wheels. Max looked out the front windshield to watch as two other replicas of Chloe's truck _emerged_ from the one she was sitting in. One of the trucks continued down the road toward the main stretch of town where Max and Chloe were headed. The other vision of Chloe's truck suddenly skidded, looked like it was hit in the passenger side with something, and ran off the side of the road into a street light. Max watched as the windshield of the wrecked truck exploded, like something was thrown out of the cab from the impact.

"Chloe, stop the truck," Max said with an edge to her voice as she tugged at one of Chloe's sleeves, "Stop the fucking truck right now."

"Uh, Max...?" Chloe said, puzzled as she glanced over and saw Max's intense expression.

" _Stop the goddamn truck!"_ Max shouted as the truck she was in began to edge closer to the two images ahead of them. Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the ignition, and turned in her seat to face Max.

"Max, what the fuck-" Chloe started, looking at Max, then spun around to look out the front of her truck at the sound of tires squealing.

A car sped down the street, weaving out of both lanes of traffic. Trying to miss an oncoming semi, the car was clipped in the rear by the massive vehicle and spun down the street, narrowly missing Chloe's parked truck. Max watched ahead as the two images of Chloe's truck seemed to flicker, and both vanished. Chloe, eyes widening, turned to look at Max. Grabbing Max by her shoulders, Chloe looked her straight in the eyes.

"You fucking saw that coming, didn't you?" Chloe said, more-so a matter of fact than a question.

"Y-yeah," Max replied, shaken by the entire scenario just witnessed, "I saw the truck head further down the road and and the truck get hit and run off the road. Chloe, I'm freaking out."

Max started shaking slightly as the fear of all that transpired began to hit her, her adrenaline still high. Chloe slid over to sit alongside Max and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pressing Max gently into her shoulder. Chloe felt Max's body quiver and knew Max was crying _. This girl has been through fucking enough. She's hella tired, and completely scared. Sure, she's no chickenshit, but she's..._ _ **we've**_ _been through enough crap._ Chloe ran her hand through Max's hair, rocking her gently as Max's quiet sobs began to subside. When Max started sniffling, Chloe pushed Max back so that she could look her in the eyes, Chloe's hands placed on Max's shoulders.

"Max, are you okay?" Chloe asked, not really knowing what else to say. Max looked up at her with a sheepish face.

"I feel like I will _never_ be okay, Che," Max said as she buried her head in Chloe's shoulder, her eyes closed as she wished the whole world would just vanish. Max had been pulled back and forth last October. Having to save Chloe so many times, and Kate, then going Dog-knows-where and giving her past self powers to save Arcadia Bay, Max's head began to hurt just from trying to take all that information in. Again. Max didn't want to cry; she felt like all she did was cry, lately, and wished that she could have more happy moments. She was doing well in school, had more friends at Blackwell than she thought she would, and was with Chloe. Looking up from Chloe's shoulder, Max stared into the eyes of the woman giving her comfort and just kept on looking into those eyes, as if the meaning behind all of this were somehow in there. Chloe, being the focus of such intensity from Max, began to blush and withdrew herself from Max.

Taking her seat from behind the steering wheel, Chloe closed her eyes and took a breath. _What the hell am I supposed to do? She's suffering, and I can't do a damn thing,_ Chloe thought. Chloe knew that she sometimes withdrew into herself at the worst possible moment; despite her love for Max, the intense need for Chloe to be a source of comfort unnerved the blue-haired woman. _Which is hella ironic_ , Chloe thought to herself with a grim expression _, because I demand nearly all of Max's time_. Max was here, with her, and all Chloe could think about was running away because she still had doubts. Chloe had watched Max nearly die, vanish, and then reappear only to nearly die again. _She's probably thinking of the same shit. Argh, this is so hella ridiculous!_

Starting the truck back up, Chloe turned around in the street to head toward Blackwell Academy, being careful to not spark the interest of the growing collection of police officers at car wreck. Max looked up from her sullenness and out the window, then back to Chloe, with a confused look on her face.

"Che?" Max asked, her voice shaking a bit, "What are you doing?"

"I think it'd probably be best if you went back to Blackwell. Classes will be starting pretty quick," Chloe said as she looked at her phone for the time, "You don't need to be running back and forth after something like this. And I'm turning into a fucking mess inside, Maximilian."

"So you're just going to dump me off?" Max retorted, and Chloe winced at the wounded tone in the other woman's voice.

"Damnit, Max, I just think we need to breathe and regroup is all. You went two months without any powers or freaky shit, and now you not only have powers but just used them to save our lives. _Again_. You'd think we would be used to this by now but I sure as hell am not," Chloe said, her voice breaking as she attempted to sound in control.

The truck pulled up to the front of Blackwell, and Max remembered how this had played out two months ago. Despite Chloe and her reconciling and getting together, Max had been pretty hurt by Chloe's dumping her at Blackwell when things got too tough. That was the first time, those months ago, but it had happened a couple more times too. Max looked over at Chloe. _Of course. She knows this is bullshit, just dropping me, so she won't look me in the face_. _Goddamnit, Chloe_ , _you don't have to put on a front when you're hurting or scared. Not with me._

The slight breeze let a late Autumn chill into the cab of Chloe's truck, snapping Max out of her train of thought. Chloe still wouldn't look at her, and Max decided she had had enough. Looking at the truck door, Max hammered down the door lock. Grabbing the loose seat-belt she had been sitting on, Max wrapped it around the front of her and buckled herself in. Max knew Chloe was watching all of this and she didn't care. _This isn't a tantrum; this is a goddamn moment to stand up, Max Caulfield_ , Max thought to herself as she looked at Chloe until the other woman became so uncomfortable that she met Max's stare.

"It's _my_ truck, Max," Chloe said forcefully.

"And _you're_ mine," Max retorted defiantly, "Just like I'm _yours_. I need you, Chloe. I _need_ you. Why are you so scared of that?"

At the last sentence, Chloe had made a huffing sound and turned her attention back to the street. Bringing her truck out of park, Chloe peeled out in front of Blackwell in a display of frustration and irritability.

"Goddamnit," Chloe said to herself as the two women resumed their previous drive to Two Whales, both closed off from each other.

Joyce hadn't said anything to either Max or Chloe when she saw the dark expressions on both their faces. Handing them menus, Joyce thought it would be better to let the two girls be. _They're both so bullheaded,_ Joyce thought as she took their orders. Returning in short time with their food, Joyce watched Chloe and Max eat in silence. They didn't talk, they weren't even willing to look up at the one another. Joyce thought with a pang of sadness how there had been trouble brewing ever since late October. Chloe had withdrawn from Max for a few days, only to get upset when Max was busy once Chloe wanted to see the other girl again. Joyce had felt for Max when the she basically dropped everything, coming at Chloe's whim.

"Mom, the bill?" Chloe asked, startling Joyce. Joyce heard Max get out of her side of the booth and put money on the counter, then Chloe sigh in frustration. Turning around, Joyce gingerly caught Chloe by the arm.

"Chloe, I know you two are both stubborn as stubborn can be, but Max has been there for you ever since she's been back. Cut her some slack?" Joyce asked with concern.

Chloe stiffened, then slumped her shoulders, muttering "Fuck" and left out the door Max had just exited from.

"Max, wait," Chloe said, calling after the woman who was already halfway across the parking lot next to the diner. Chloe felt a chill when she saw how cold Max looked at her in response. _Ugh, I totally fucked up, and now she's pulling back in response. But it's not all my fault!_

"What, Chloe?" Max said evenly, without any emotion. Max just watched as Chloe made her way to where she was standing. Carefully, as though Max were like a burning coal, Chloe placed a hand in Max's. Chloe thought she felt Max's hand stiffen for a second, then slowly wrap around hers.

"...Let me take you somewhere, somewhere we haven't been yet," Chloe said in trepidation. _A place where we can really be alone and just talk. About your new power and the photo...and about us._

"I'm not going back to Blackwell?" Max asked, her tone questioning.

"Only if you want to. I'm not going to press this, Max, but I'd really like to show you something," Chloe said as she watched Max think for a moment, the smaller woman's face giving away conflicting emotions. Looking up to face Chloe, Max relinquished her hand and turned back in the direction of the truck and said in a hesitant tone "Fine".

Chloe let go a quiet sigh of relief, afraid Max might hear it, and walked briskly to her truck. Hopping into the cab, Chloe pulled out of Two Whales and drove the truck in the direction of the park on the outskirts of town. Glancing over to see Max looking out her window, Chloe looked back at the street, hoping Max would be willing to listen.

"Whoa," Max uttered as she looked at what Chloe was pointing at. They had made the trek through the woods in silence, Max being a little annoyed at herself _and_ Chloe for skipping school. Never having done so, her phone had momentarily lit up with messages from Dana, Alyssa, Warren. Even Mr. Jefferson had contacted her. _The school probably gives all the teachers their students' numbers_ , Max thought as she scanned the messages while walking along the worn path. Looking up from her phone as she pocketed it, Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air was crisp and woodsy, light playing through the canopy of treetops in small rays that seemingly connected the ground to the sky. Pulling her camera out, Max took a couple pictures of the scenery. Looking at the photos as they developed in her hand, she had bumped into Chloe's back. Coughing and adjusting herself awkwardly, Max had just put her camera away when she saw Chloe point toward one of the trees.

What looked like their old tree fort sat about 10 feet above them. Seeing discarded pieces of old boards on the ground, Max noticed that one wall had been replaced with a section of chain-link fence. The wooden boards nailed into the tree to make a ladder had been replaced with an old rope ladder.

"Ladies first," Chloe said as she gestured toward the ladder.

Max climbed up the rope ladder with a slight amount of difficulty. Each time she was about to lose her footing Chloe had caught her foot and placed it on a rung, which caused Max's irritability to turn into embarrassment. Sitting on the floor of the small fort, Max leaned against the tree trunk and watched Chloe climb up effortlessly. _Of course_ , Max thought, _She's a freaking Amazon._ Taking a seat across from Max, Chloe pulled the rope ladder up the hole they had used, then placed a loose section of boarding over it. Max hugged her knees to her chest as she eyed Chloe, then quietly cleared her throat.

"So," Max started, "Talk."

"Max...Max you know we've been through a lot since we got back together," Chloe said with some hesitation, "I know that sometimes I, well, I just shut down. I know that is unfair to you when I just expect you to be okay with it, and okay with me suddenly wanting to see you the second I don't shut myself off."

"Uh-huh," Max said with no emotion, causing Chloe to look up at her with a pained expression.

"I'm trying, Max, I really am. I told you when we first got together that this shit is hella difficult for me. I've been betrayed-"

"No. You don't get to use that again, Chloe. We've talked about this-"

"Max, it is _always_ going to be there! It's not like I want it to be - it just is. And I'm not alone in acting like this either. You pull this shit on me sometimes, too."

"...I know," Max said in acknowledgment. Chloe's expression softened slightly as Max sighed and brushed her hands against the chain-link fence and looked out into the forest, "I know we both fuck up, Chlo, but you tried to drop me just a little over an hour ago when I had been _crying in your fucking arms_. How do you, how _can_ you, justify that?"

"I can't, Max. I didn't bring you here to try and talk my way out of being an asshole. I have particularly shitty moments. I brought you out here to show you, to tell you, how much you mean to me. To say that I'm sorry," Chloe said as she shifted herself over to sit alongside Max. Chloe looked over at Max, but Max wouldn't meet Chloe's gaze, "Please, Max, I _am_ sorry."

Max slowly turned her head to face Chloe, her eyes still slightly puffy from the near-accident.

"I'm..I'm sorry, too," Max said as she placed her hand on Chloe's thigh, "I dump such an epic shit-ton of things on your and expect you to bounce back up from it because I _have_ to. You don't need to shut yourself away, though. I get scared when you do that, like I'll just get dropped and never picked back up."

"That's what _I_ am afraid of, that I'll open my eyes one morning and find you gone. Like you'd never come back at all, like this was just a really nice dream," Chloe said softly, leaning her head on Max's. Chloe bit her lower lip in relief when she felt Max's head lean into the crook of her neck.

"So we're both afraid the other will leave," Max snickered slightly, "We hella suck."

"We do need some serious communication skills. I'm a damaged punk-ass and you're a shy, cute little nerd. Go figure."

Max laughed a little, digging a finger into Chloe's side. Chloe squirmed a bit, then held Max closer to her and smiled when she felt Max hug her back. _Moments like these, it's like the breaking of a storm. There's disaster, hella epic disaster, but there's also a sense of fucking relief at it being over_.

"I'll try harder if you will, Che," Max said, causing Chloe to grin.

"Max, I will not lose you again. Even if we woke up in completely opposite ends of the world, I would wreck it all to find you," Chloe said, kissing Max passionately. Max placed her hand on Chloe's cheek and held the kiss before Chloe could break off. Not letting Chloe go until both women needed to gasp for air, Max leaned up against Chloe and bundled herself inside the jacket Chloe was wearing. Chloe wrapped her arms around Max, adjusting herself so that she could recline a little against the tree, "Pretty hardcore kiss, Shaka Brah."

"Mmm..," Max said as she lifted an arm to put a finger on Chloe's lips, "Sleep."

"Max, I'm not even tir-"

"Sleeeeeep," Max repeated, stretching out as the finger on Chloe's lips became Max playfully squeezing Chloe's cheeks. Letting go of Chloe's face, Max wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist and laid her head in the taller woman's lap.

Sighing and looking up at the sky, Chloe tucked her beanie down over her head a little more and rested an arm on Max's side as the other woman nodded off. Feeling content, Chloe sat in silence as the clouds rolled by overhead, eventually nodding off as well.

"Never thought you for the type to skip school, Max," Dana said as Max and Chloe came into the hall of the girls' dormitory in the middle of the afternoon, "Where have you been?"

"There was a car wreck, and we were both pretty shaken up," Max replied, still a little drowsy from earlier. Discretely elbowing Chloe, Max closed her eyes in resignation when Chloe looked at her with an expression of confusion.

" _You_ should know better," Dana said, poking Chloe in the chest, "Max isn't the type to ditch. Or at least, she wasn't."

"Hey, I chose to go with Chloe," Max said as she stood between Dana and an irritated Chloe, "I'm sorry I didn't answer your texts, Dana. We just needed some time to talk, okay?"

Dana shifted her gaze from Max to Chloe, and back to Max. Rolling her eyes, Dana went into her room and brought back her notebook.

"Here, Max. The notes from today. We don't share every class, but enough that this should help. Call next time," Chloe said as she playfully punched both girls in the shoulder.

Max nodded awkwardly and pulled Chloe to her room as quickly as her legs would allow. Setting Dana's notebook on her desk, Max looked down to see that another envelope had been completely slipped underneath her door, partially jammed under her bedside table. Chloe saw where Max was looking and grabbed the envelope before Max could. Opening the envelope, Chloe unfolded a piece of paper and grimaced.

"This is some stalker-level bullshit, Max," Chloe said as she handed Max the paper and sat on the bed.

The paper was a print-out of an image. Again in black and white, a nude woman was splayed out in a dark room, Max's face photoshopped onto the body. Looking at the backside, Max saw a neatly written "Like what you see, Max?" before crumpling the paper up and throwing it across her small room. Sitting next to Chloe, Max closed her eyes in exhaustion while her blue-haired girlfriend ran her fingers through Max's hair. They sat there for minutes, not saying anything. Max felt like she might fall back asleep, Chloe's combing through her hair felt so relaxing. Yawning, Max slowly sat up straight and got to her feet.

"I need a shower," Max said in a matter-of-fact tone, gathering her bath supplies. Chloe grinned.

"I could join you..."

"Oh yeah, because that would end well. Y'know, what with every person on this floor still awake. You're a complete dork," Max said, placing a hand on her hip and smiling at the still-sitting Chloe.

"Maybe, but I'm _your_ dork. Take responsibility, nerd," Chloe said in a bemused tone, lying back on the bed, "Don't take too long."

"I won't."

Max made her way to the bathroom, ignoring some of the looks she was on the receiving end of. _Wowsers, if I had known me skipping one day was bad, I'm glad there is no plan for a repeat. People say I'm nosy, shit,_ Max thought as she entered the bathroom and proceeded to strip in the stall the furthest away from the door. Starting the water, Max adjusted the flow until it was near-scalding hot, then jumped in all at once. The heat beat against her in fast pelting motions, stinging at first only to become slightly numbing. Max stood in the water for a moment, emptying her mind, when a single thought came into her head. She spoke it out loud.

"Sometimes, it feels like we're going to do nothing but clash and make up. Over and over, over and over. I wonder what it would have been like if we'd kept in touch during my time away. Chloe wouldn't be so damn fixated on me being gone if we'd just stayed close. Would we be even closer?"

Max shut the shower off and moved to exit the stall when she slipped. At least, that's what she thought was happening at the time. Max looked up to see _herself_ a few seconds before. Another Max appeared in her vision, and another. Max felt the burning sensation in her eyes again, and in combination with landing on the back of her head from slipping, fell into darkness.

"...Max? Max, wake up!" a voice called out.

"What happened?" another voice asked, sounding worried.

"I-I think she slipped and hit her head."

"Shit."

"Wait. Look - she's coming around."

Max opened her eyes and was staring at the ceiling of the bathroom. Wincing from the throbbing sensation emanating from the back of her head, Max let unseen hands help her up as her vision began to focus. _What was that? They looked like me, but...different._

"Max, are you okay?" a voice asked. Max looked over to see Dana and Juliet standing next to her, bracing her up. Some of the other girls - Alyssa, Stella, and Kate - stood in the doorway as Max rubbed her hand across her face. Deliberately closing and opening her eyes, Max's head cleared and she looked over at Dana.

"Uh, I think so. Must've slipped on the tiling," Max said, sounding a little confused.

"Never thought I'd see you slip," Juliet said, only for Dana to hush her.

"We're just glad you're okay, Max," Dana said, helping Max collect her bath supplies. Wrapped in a towel, Max let Dana guide her out of the bathroom and to the door of Max's dorm room. Thanking Dana, Max paused to look around. Something felt off to Max. Attributing it to the knock on her head, Max waited until the girls dispersed and entered her room, locking the door.

The bath supplies fell to the floor when Max turned around. Posters of bands whose names she did not know covered the wall behind her couch, her acoustic guitar replaced by an electric one with a small amp plugged in. Lisa had been replaced with a trio of plants lined up against the wall where her original plant had once been. Looking around the room, Max noticed several small differences. Her photo with her dad on the wall was replaced with a photo of Max blowing out what appeared to be a younger Chloe's birthday cake, the other girl looking at Max in shock. Max's eyes widened as she got a closer look at the girl standing next to Chloe in another picture, holding the young Chloe's hands as they kissed.

Max spun around so fast the throbbing of her head made her dizzy. Steadying herself by leaning against the wall, Max took a breath and looked across the room into the mirror. The girl looking back was her height, with hair colored just like hers and freckles. The hair was cut in a pixie style, her lower lip pierced with a small ring. Max saw a number of what looked like old injuries she couldn't remember, and a tattoo of a skull with a blue flower growing out of the back of it was situated on her left shoulder. Looking at her photo wall, Max saw that some of the pictures had been replaced with her reflection and Chloe. Chloe looked the same, blue hair and tattooed, but Max couldn't place where they had been taken or when.

"Crap!" Max cried out as she heard her phone suddenly go off in the silence. Sighing, Max slowly walked to the buzzing phone and opened the menu.

 **Chloe:** Maximus, where the fuck are you?

 **Chloe:** __Srsly, get your ass in gear!

Max looked at the phone, then at her reflection.

"Oh, shit."


	3. Chapter 3

**Double Exposure**

Max Caulfield was freaking out, barely able to contain the anxiety building up inside her. _FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK!_ Max thought as she scrambled around the room that was hers-but-not. So much was similar, but the differences added up and Max was having trouble wrapping her head around all the changes. _What else has changed? Oh fuck. Chloe..._

Heading to her closet, Max sighed as she saw that some of _her_ clothes were still in this, well, wherever she was. Pulling on a white t-shirt, red flannel shirt, and faded blue jeans, Max tied the Chuck Taylors she found tucked under the bed on. At the door, Max spun back around and grabbed what looked like her camera bag. Fishing through it, Max's eyes slightly bulged as she saw not only a Polaroid camera, but also a pricey-looking helmet camera. Staring for a moment, Max shook her head in exasperation and winced at the pain emanating from the back of her head. Seeing a journal lying next to the laptop on the desk, Max stuffed the notebook into her bag as well and nearly ran out the door.

Locking the door behind her, Max looked up to see Nathan Prescott and Victoria Chase talking the door to Victoria's dorm room. Victoria, noticing Max's gaze, awkwardly shifted her feet and whispered to Nathan. Nathan, spinning around almost too fast, raised up both hands. _Wait, when did Nathan_ ever _look scared?_

"Caulfield, we don't want any trouble. You had your fun, right? I won't try to get Kate drunk again, I swear," Nathan said as he visibly _cowered_ , "Please don't hit me again."

Max's eyebrows arched up in puzzlement, then realizing that they were starting to look confused, Max scowled to distract Victoria and Nathan from her own confusion. Clutching the shoulder strap with both hands, Max walked down the hall as fast as she could without attracting attention. _Wowsers, some people won't even look at me,_ Max thought, _Who_ are _you, Max Caulfield? Ugh, third-person self-reference sounds hella creepy. Uh...Alterna-Max?_

Max was halfway down the stairs when her phone went off again. Pulling it out while continue to descend the stairs, Max read the message to herself.

"'Max, where the fuck are you? You promised we'd hang after you got out of class,'," Max said, her anxiety getting worse, heart pounding. Max didn't know whoever this Chloe was, only the brief snippets that she had seen in the photos on her walls. Coming to the exit leading outside, Max hung by the door for a moment. _Think, Max! What do I do? I don't know this Chloe, I don't know this..._ me _!_ The back of her head still throbbing, Max suddenly had an idea.

Stepping outside, Max started walking like she was drunk. Stumbling over her feet, swaying, Max rolled her eyes into the back of her head and fell over onto the ground. A slight "oof" left her as the breath was knocked out of her from letting herself drop. Hearing someone call her name, Max turned over onto her back and looked up groggily to see who was calling out to her. Hearing approaching footsteps, Max turned her head to the side and saw... _a_ Chloe.

Her hair was still that same shade of blue, still encapsulated in a beanie, but now came down to her shoulders. The face seemed... _cheerier_ to Max, despite looking mortified. Wearing a denim vest over a plain white tank-top with torn jeans, Chloe Price's footfalls fell short next to where Max lay on the ground. No longer limited to being partly covered, a full sleeve was now tattooed on Chloe's arm. _Is that a Polaroid camera on her wrist? Awww._ Max watched as this Chloe kneeled down next to her, seeming to be torn between picking Max up and leaving her where she was. Realizing that this idea may not have been the best, Max slowly sat up, bracing herself by stretching her arms behind her. Looking over at Chloe, Max smiled weakly, her heart wrenching slightly as the Chloe kneeling next to her bit her lip in worry.

"Uh, hey," Max said in a quiet voice, letting Chloe help her up. Actually feeling dizzy, Max squinted as everything got incredibly bright for a moment. The moment held for a few seconds, with Max remembering the flashes of light before she would see the visions of multiples. _Are these flashes of light connected to what's going on? It's like something is being seared into my brain_ through _my eyes!_ Max's vision cleared, slowly, and she saw Chloe's face inches from her own. Max had no time to react as this Chloe gingerly kissed Max on the lips, leaning her forehead against Max's.

"You totally fucking scared me," Chloe said, sighing in relief, then held Max, "Easy, Baby, you're in the nurse's office.

Max looked around in a slight haze as she took in her surroundings. _I've never been in here before,_ Max thought, _at least, not_ here here _. Ugh, this is so confusing!_ The small room had a couple examination tables, supply cabinets, with a bed shoved up against the wall facing outside.

"Where's the nurse?" Max asked, "A-am I okay?"

"You've got a hella nasty bump on your head. You passed out, Max. I feel so bad. Did you hurry out of the shower because of me?" Chloe asked.

"No, no I didn't. I just slipped, s'all."

"Max Caulfield, _you_ don't _just_ slip and nearly crack your skull open. I've seen you do tricks on your board that would land people in hospitals and you fall on your ass and face only to get back up. Shit, you broke your nose a couple months ago and grinned as you got back up and tried the trick again."

Max took this information in. _I'm a skater. I'm into rock and punk music. Chloe's into these things, but I can't skate for shit. Not really. Who the fuck_ is _Alterna-Max?_

"Babe, you okay?" Chloe said, mistaking Max being deep in thought as Max spacing out again.

"Uh, where's the nurse?"

"She went to go get you some meds. You're gonna have a killer headache before the day is over," Chloe said, smirking. Suddenly growing quiet, Chloe took a seat beside Max on the examination table.

"Max, maybe you should stay in your dorm tonight. You don't have to hang out with my lame ass, being injured and all," Chloe said with a forlorn expression. Max snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Chloe.

"I'm coming with you, Chlo," Max said, trying to sound cheerful, "I promised you, didn't I?" _I need to know more about this place_.

"You sure?"

" _Hella_ sure," Max replied, getting a chuckle out of Chloe.

The nurse returned a few minutes later to find Chloe and Max completely oblivious to everything and anyone else in the room. Politely coughing, the nurse handed Max a bottle of pain relievers with instructions on what amount she could take at one time and how much she could take in a day. Leading Max out of the nurse's office, Chloe walked Max arm-in-arm to the parking lot. Instinctively, Max scanned the parking lot for Chloe's truck, wondering how Chloe got here when her truck was nowhere in sight. Sheepishly smiling at Chloe as she realized the other woman was watching her with a bemused expression, Max followed Chloe to a beat-up, dark green AMC Gremlin. Awkwardly climbing into the small vehicle, Max looked around the interior of the car as she buckled her seat belt. _It looks...plain_ , Max thought as she inspected her surroundings. Maybe it was that _her_ Chloe's truck was in worse shape than this car, but this Chloe's vehicle seemed cleaner, less lived-in.

"Pizza?" Chloe asked, turning the ignition, "We can order some when we get to my place."

"Hm. W-what?" Max asked, not quite catching what Chloe had said.

"Max," Chloe said, chuckling, "I know you hit your head really bad, but you're so fucking dense today. Pizza? my place?"

"Oh, yeah. Sounds good," Max responded, thinking _She has a place of her own? Wowsers, this could get hella awkward. I need a moment to try and figure this all out, or at least as much as I can._

The stairs sounded a little rickety to Max, feeling the wetness of light drizzle from outside as they ascended the stairs. Waiting for Chloe to unlock the door, Max started running scenarios through her head, worried of what might soon come. _Of all the times to not have time_ powers, Max thought as she heard a faint clicking sound. Opening the front door, Chloe turned to Max with a lopsided, Chloe-ish grin.

"M'lady," Chloe said, waving Max in. Coming in after Max, Chloe closed and locked the old door. Max turned around just as Chloe pulled on her's collar and gave the quiet woman a short, tender kiss. Holding the kiss for a moment, Chloe relinquished her hold on Max and dropped her stuff off on the kitchen counter.

"Take a seat, pete," Chloe said, pointing at a couch along one of the waiting area's walls, "I'll order us some grub."

Max looked around. The apartment was a studio, efficiency place. A futon and single chair with a coffee table seemed to consist of the living area, an old TV/DVD combo shoved into a corner near the furniture. The bedroom area was near the closet, closed off by slightly tattered Asian blinds. _Must be a big bed_ , _half the space is taken up_ , Max thought, then chastised herself for thinking about the bedroom a little too long. The kitchen was separated from the rest of the apartment only by a small counter, but still had all the appliances one might need for a full kitchen. Max looked at all the pictures, posters, and graffiti on the walls. _She looks so happy,_ Max thought as she looked at a picture of Chloe grinning in a graduation cap and gown, blue hair sticking out slightly. Max knew well enough that the girl standing next to her was this world's Max Caulfield. Her hair cut more like how Max's was before Chloe took clippers to it, this world's Max was dressed up in a black and white sundress, hugging the Chloe in the picture.

"Aren't you all nostalgic?" Max heard Chloe say. Max turned to see this Chloe wearing an oversized t-shirt and blushed when she noticed that Chloe was wearing only underwear. Placing the pizza order online from a laptop lying on the bed, Chloe played some Metric from the laptop as she reclined on the bed.

"Hey, Max. I have a little homework for my Calculus class, so just feel free to chill. Maybe knock your marbles back into place, spaz."

"Whatever, nerd," Max retorted, with Chloe sticking her tongue out in reply. _Calculus? Chloe's in college?_ Grabbing her journal out of the camera bag, Max opened up the dense tome and began skimming from the beginning. The first date was about a month after she had left _her_ Arcadia Bay, and her Chloe.

 _Seattle's alright. Trying to make new friends here is hard when everyone already_ has _friends. Looking forward to this weekend - we're settled in so Dad is letting me take the bus to Arcadia Bay! Chloe was so excited that her scream over the phone nearly deafened me! She said she'd teach me to skateboard!_

Another entry was from about three months later.

 _Got into it with my parents again. Chloe came up for the weekend. We checked out the Fremont Troll and acted like tourists around the city. Chloe got really sad when she had to go on Sunday. I miss not seeing Chloe as often as I used to._

The next entry Max spotted seemed almost engraved into the paper, the lines slightly jagged out of what Max guessed was anger.

 _Chloe just showed up at the front door this morning, carrying a duffel bag and shouldering a backpack. She wanted me to run away with her, doesn't like her step-dad. Locked myself in my room with Chloe when my parents tried to put Chloe on the phone with David. They nearly broke my door down to get to her. What the fuck?_

 _She ran away to_ me _?_ Max thought as she continued reading.

 _Joyce called my parents when I showed up at her doorstep this morning. Mom sounded crazy, Dad just sounded sad. Told them I wanted to stay with Chloe, and that I'd run away if I couldn't. They don't understand. Nobody does, except for Chloe._

Max skipped a number of pages until she spotted something that caught her eye.

 _Chloe turned 18 today and moved into her apartment! I took the bus to come down and see her, we were both so excited. It's a studio apartment, but it's really nice that Chloe has a place of her own - David snooping on us whenever I came down was getting to be too much. Listened to some music, had Chinese food and some beer. I normally hate the stuff, ew, but Chloe insisted we toast in celebration._

 _Chloe kissed me, told me she was in love with me. Hella trippy. I love her, though, and told her so._

 _Last night was...words fail. Max reboot system failure crash pffffff._

Deeply exhaling with a slight flush to her cheeks, Max flipped through the journal further, noticing pictures taped to some of the pages. _She moved in with Chloe after Chloe turned 18? Alterna-Max won some amateur photography contests? She still got the scholarship to Blackwell, so at least there's that._ Max felt more than a little jealous as she closed the journal, resting her head against the back of the couch as she stared up at the ceiling. _This is a world where I never abandoned Chloe..._

"Max! Pizza's here!" Chloe said, wafting the pizza box in front of the couch as she closed the door to the apartment, "Dude, seriously, are you sure you're okay? You're spacing out more than usual."

Max looked at this Chloe and felt a stabbing sensation in her chest _,_ her eyes watering up. _This is a Chloe that could have been if I'd kept in touch, if I'd stayed in her life for those five years_ we _were apart._ Chloe saw the budding tears and sat the pizza on the coffee table in front of the couch to take a seat next to Max. Looking at the notebook in Max's lap, Chloe placed her hand on the hand Max had on top of the journal.

"Sweetie," Chloe cooed as bent down to nuzzle Max's neck, setting Max's journal aside, "C'mon. Eat something. We can talk later, if you want. You're so cute when you're mushy and nostalgic."

"Sorry. It's just hard for me sometimes, I guess," Max said, answering honestly, "We've been together for a while, Che."

"Wow. You _are_ nostalgic tonight. You haven't called me Che in a while, Max."

"Sorry." Max felt her cheeks flush

"Don't be," Chloe said as she kissed Max on the forehead and stood up, "It's sweet. Now, I'm gonna finish my homework. Won't take long, okay?"

"Sure," Max said, feeling a weight in her stomach. _Chloe's place?_ _Bizarro Blackwell is bad enough, and the situation with this Chloe is making me want to cry every five minutes. I'm not sure I can manage a night in Chloe's love shack._ _Crap, Max, this is going too far._

 _"_ Chlo, my head is really starting to bother me again. Maybe I should go back to Blackwell."

"You want to go back?" Chloe asked from the bed, "I've barely seen you all week."

 _Shit,_ Max thought. _I don't want to hurt her._

"Do you have anything for headaches here?" Max asked, her will failing before the blue-haired woman locking eyes with her.

"...Max, seriously, what the fuck is going on?" Chloe asked, coming out of the bedroom area. Her face was one of concern, but her even tone sounded like trouble might be brewing.

"Do you ever wonder about the decisions we've made in life? I-If the other choices, I dunno, lived on?" Max blurted out, feeling flustered, "Another you, another me?"

"Wow, that's hella deep, Max. Hmm," Chloe said, looking surprised by the complexity of the sudden question, "Uh, I guess? Maybe every choice creates an alternative. Where did the quantum theory come from?"

Moving to the bedroom area, Max sat down on the bed. Still puzzled, Chloe followed her back to the bed and sat across from Max. Watching Max for a moment, Chloe closed her laptop and slid the computer under her bed. Taking Max's hands in hers, Chloe laid the smaller woman on the bed and straddled her, bending down to look at Max face-to-face.

"Are you lost in there?" Chloe asked, poking Max in the forehead gently, "I'll find you." Chloe made to kiss Max when the woman on the bed turned her head to the side.

"Sorry, Chloe. I just...there's a lot on my mind right now," Max said as this Chloe sat over her, a look of mild irritation on Chloe's face, "It's complicated."

Max sat up as Chloe got up from the bed and went to the kitchen. Max put her head in her hands, confused as to what to do. _Should I go back to Blackwell? This is so stupid. It's_ Chloe _, yours or not. I should at least be able to relax around her._ But she couldn't; instead, Max only felt more awkward as Chloe returned with a lit joint in her mouth.

"Max, if you're going to just fuck with me tonight, maybe you should go. I _do_ have homework and I'm _not_ feeling your game of hard-to-get," Chloe said, waiting for Max's answer.

"Che-" Max started, only to be interrupted by Chloe.

"You're acting so hella weird. Old nicknames, stuttering like you did years ago. I would find the bashfulness cute if it didn't feel like you're hiding something," Chloe said, not moving.

Her face becoming increasingly flushed, Max slowly stood up and collected her camera bag from the couch. Max turned at the door to look at Chloe, then opened it and left at seeing her 'What the fuck' expression. The walk down the stairs was quiet as Max suddenly felt very, _very_ alone.

The lighthouse felt like a refuge to Max, the darkness of night providing some solitude as she sat on the bench and looked out at the beach and Arcadia Bay. Feeling the phone in the camera bag vibrate, Max pulled it out and saw that Chloe, this Arcadia's Chloe, had sent a text asking Max what was going on with her. Max sighed and pocketed the phone, then continued to look out at the coast. _I miss you, Che. This world is a fantasy. I left Arcadia five years ago, but when I found you there was genuine magic. I_ can't _lose that, lose you. How do I get back?_ Max was about to cry when she heard a coughing sound coming from back near the path. Turning in the bench, Max saw Chloe walking towards her. For a moment, Max thought that it was _her_ Chloe, but her heart fell when she saw it was the other Chloe. _You're the 'other'_ , _dummy. She actually belongs here._

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on," Chloe said as she came up to the bench and took a seat. Max looked at Chloe and saw she wasn't taking her eyes off of Max.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Max said, her voice weak with resignation and loneliness. Chloe's hard stare eased when she saw that Max had been crying.

"Max, just talk to me. Please."

"That's just it," Max said, feeling a little hysterical, "I'm _not_ Max. Not _your_ Max, anyway."

"What?" Chloe asked, confused.

"I asked you about the decisions in life for a reason, Chloe. Where I am from, I left Arcadia Bay and we, my Chloe and I, never kept in touch. I regretted it then, and I still feel terrible about it, but when I came back we fell hard. Crazy adventures with time powers, solving mysteries-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. 'Time powers'?" Chloe asked incredulously.

"I...I could control time. I used it, a lot, to save my Chloe. She jump-started my powers, actually, by nearly dying in the girls' room at Blackwell."

"...Was it Nathan Prescott?" Chloe asked, her voice very quiet. Max's head jerked up to look at Chloe.

"Wowsers! It happened here, too? He pulled a gun on you?"

"Yeah. He was giving you grief and I went to Blackwell to confront him. Thankfully, little shit backed down when he realized how crazy he was getting. A fucking gun, right? Max, are you saying he _shot me_?" Chloe asked, shivering.

"Uh, yeah. Where I came from, anyway. It was what triggered my powers. I reached my hand out to stop him and next thing I knew I could go back in time. Not far, but enough to stop him."

Max watched Chloe process this, wondering what the other woman was going to say. _She looks like she might cry, or scream. Maybe both,_ Max thought, _I kinda just dropped a weapon of mass drama on her. I don't need to tell her about all the other times I saved_ my _Chloe's life._

"I never told anyone about that day with Prescott, and you can bet he didn't either. I know there wasn't anyone in there because I got to the restroom first and checked to make sure we'd be alone," Chloe said, sounding exhausted and a little frightened, "So, you _aren't_ my Max?"

"You believe me...?" Max asked, sounding perhaps a bit too hopeful. Chloe noticed the tone in Max's voice and shrugged.

"I don't know what to believe, Max. You tell me these...unbelievable things, _hella crazy things,_ but you know something that is otherwise impossible for you to know. I guess...I guess I'm open to the possibility. So, how'd you get here, if all this is true?" Chloe asked, crossing her arms and giving Max a serious look.

"I developed a new power recently. After the time powers went away, I've spent the past two months with nothing. Now, I can see the decisions people are faced with and the choices that they can make. I can't control it, and the last time it happened was to me. I slipped in the shower and I saw alternate versions of myself. Next thing I know, I'm in this Arcadia Bay with a sore head and a lot of confusion," Max said, realizing how the end of what she'd said made her sound.

"So, you could just be dealing with a concussion and are incredibly out of it. Or, you're incredibly high. Hella fucking high."

"I'm not, Chloe. I am _not_ crazy. This is real," Max said, thinking about how she'd had a very similar conversation like this with her Chloe back in October. Max half-expected snow to start falling, or the sky to turn a bloody shade of red.

Chloe continued to watch Max, uncertain as to who the woman in front of her was. Part of Chloe just wanted to raise her arms in the air, say "Fuck it!", and leave. Another part was curious, connecting the dots behind today. Sure, Max shut down sometimes, locked herself away. Blackwell was placing a strain on her girlfriend, all the drama more than Max usually put up with. _This makes zero sense, but she's acting so different today..._

"If you're telling the truth, how do you get back? How do I get _my_ Max back?" Chloe finally asked, a slight grin across her face as she saw the Max standing before her visibly relax.

"I don't know, Chlo. Maybe it'll just happen, maybe I have to do something to make it happen. All I know is I'm _here._ "

Standing up, Max began to pace around the hilltop while lost in thought. Chloe pulled out a cigarette and began to smoke, still seated at the bench. The silence was palpable, both women in their own minds as the gears turned in thoughtfulness. Max found herself leaning against the door to the shed, drumming her hands against the shabby door. _I wonder what else happened here?_

"Hey, uh, did anything else peculiar happen in October?" Max asked, watching Chloe turn around in the bench to face her. Chloe squinted in concentration, then her eyes widened as she recollected something.

"There was a stash of creepy pictures found under the stairs of your, _her_ , dorm. Nobody knew who took the pics, though. Why?"

"The same thing happened in my Arcadia, but my Chloe and I found Nathan Prescott carrying one of the photo books in his bag," Max replied, noting that Chloe raised an eyebrow with a curious expression.

Max watched as Chloe got up and tossed her cigarette over the hillside, then walked over to lean up next to Max on the door. Feeling the door creak slightly, Max shifted to give Chloe some more room.

"Nathan's a shithead, but I doubt he'd be able to pull something like that off on his own," Chloe said, putting her hands in her pockets, "Did anyone else get caught?"

"No. With the Prescotts and the press blowing the whole thing up, no one really thought about an accomplice."

"Even you, Sherlock?" Chloe asked, but regretted the remark when she saw Max wince. _This is getting awkward as fuck. We can't even really talk to each other._

"We, my Chloe and I, only figured that out recently. Mainly, because someone started sending me creepy threats," Max said, shivering at the visual of the pictures she had received.

Chloe instinctively kicked the door in frustration, upset at the thought of _any_ Max being on the receiving end of threats, and felt the door buckle under her foot. Both women looking down, they watched as the bottom half of the door continued to shake as Chloe kicked it. Curiosity getting the better of both Chloe and Max, they proceeded to hammer at the door with their feet until the old door gave way.

The interior of the shed was dark, and seemed to have been haphazardly renovated. Light fixtures hung from one wall, with a series of sinks under the lights. Flipping on the switches, Max squinted and Chloe shielded her eyes from the flare of dim, red light bulbs. Examining the contents of the room, Max found a locked storage locker in the corner and some photography equipment. Examining some of the pieces, Max's thoughts began to click together.

"A darkroom," Max said to herself, getting a quizzical look from Chloe in response, "What the eff is a darkroom doing out here?"

"Dude, we were just talking about those creepy pictures. You think maybe they came from here?" Chloe asked, gesturing to all the equipment in the shed.

As Max realized the likelihood of such a statement, a memory from October crept into her mind. _Nathan Prescott getting caught by Chloe up here. Was he trying to come in here? Is the shed in my Arcadia the same as this? Who else knows about this?_

"Uh, Max. You need to see this," Chloe said, her tone flat. Looking up from her feet, Max walked over to where Chloe was standing. Using a piece of rebar, Chloe had pried open the storage locker, revealing a series of small shelves inside. A digital camera sat on one of the shelves. Taking the camera in her hands, Max turned the power onto the small device. The battery light flashing in warning, Max began to flip through the pictures on the flash card, and dropped the camera in horror. Picking up the camera, Chloe looked at the picture. It was a class photo of Max's photography class. Chloe looked at Max in confusion, nearly flinching at Max's expression, a look of mixed rage and terror.

"It's Mr. Jefferson's camera, Chloe. This is his darkroom."


	4. Chapter 4

**Aperture**

Chloe grabbed the fainting Max before the smaller of the two could hit the floor of the shed. Lying Max's head on her lap, Chloe brushed Max's hair out of her face while gingerly trying to wake Max up. Realizing that Max might be out of it for a bit, Chloe leaned Max against a wall in the shed and began poking around the shed, looking for anything else that could provide them with information.

"Fuck, Chloe Price, you're such a goddamn snoop," Chloe muttered to herself, then turned to look at the unconscious Max with a smirk, "Look who I got it from."

Exploring the contents of open boxes and shelves, Chloe fished through her pockets and turned on the screen to her phone, illuminating small areas with a faint light that provided more accuracy than the dim red of the darkroom. Binders, packages of film, and memory cards were scattered along the shelf directly above the sinks. Grabbing a memory card, Chloe slid the card into her phone and began scanning through the photos. _Ugh, fucking creep_ , Chloe thought as she looked at the pictures of various girls from the Blackwell campus.Noticing a slight glare to the pictures, Chloe kneeled down next to make and shook the photographer.

"Max," Chloe said as Max's eyes began to flutter open, "Look at this." Chloe handed Max her phone, with Max groggily examining the contents. Her eyes widening as she flipped through the entire library, Max noticed that most of the shots were from a specific angle that showed a wider view of the main building's courtyard than should be possible. _Unless..._ , Max began to think.

"I think...I think he's taking these from inside the school building, maybe from the classroom we use for class," Max stated as she handed Chloe her phone back, "Uh, are there any other photos?"

A mischievous glint in her eyes, Chloe stood back up only to return with an armful of film and memory cards. Grimacing, Max took one of the memory cards, acting like it might be carrying some disease. Pulling out the phone used by the Max from _this_ Arcadia Bay, Max inserted the memory card and gagged as the first photo popped up. Seeing Max's face, Chloe snatched the phone from Max's hand and looked at the screen. The photo was a shot of what appeared to be a teenage girl, undressed and unconscious. The subsequent pictures in the card depicted the girl in various poses, unconscious the entire time but in varying stages of dress and undress. Shivering, Chloe handed back the phone to Max, who promptly removed the memory card.

"I might actually be sick," Max said, feeling like bile was rising in her throat, "Chlo, these pictures-"

"Creepy _asshole_ ," Chloe spat, "Shit's about to go down at Blackwell."

"What should we do?" Max asked, "Cops?"

"Fuck. Yeah, we probably should-" Chloe started to say, only to stop as the faint sound of footsteps began to emanate from outside. Running to the door, Chloe shut it quietly and spun around to face Max.

" _Hide!_ " Chloe whispered, squeezing herself behind the storage locker as Max began to frantically scan the room for a place to conceal herself. Shutting the red lights off, Max did the only thing she could think of. Hiding where the door would hit the wall, Max watched as the door creaked open and began to move toward her ill-conceived hiding place. Seeing the silhouette of a person step into the darkened shed, Max began to sweat as the door inched closer only to feel a sense of relief as it stopped just short of making contact with her. Watching the silhouette move away from the door, groping for the light switch, Max pushed the door shut as quickly as she could and slammed her body against the silhouette. Hearing an "Umph" as the form hit the floor of the shed, Max flipped on the lights to see Nathan Prescott holding his now-bleeding nose.

"What the fuck-" Nathan started only to cringe in pain as Max's foot connected with the hand Nathan was using to cover his bleeding nose. Looking up, Nathan's eyes widened as he saw Max Caulfield looming over him, a seething expression on her face.

"Once an asshole, always an asshole," Max uttered, anger barely contained as Nathan backed away from her towards a corner. Reaching a corner, Nathan felt fabric behind his head. Looking up, Nathan saw Chloe Price staring down at him with a malevolent grin on her face.

"Dude, you are so fucked," Chloe said as she hoisted Nathan on his feet and threw him against the sink.

"What's with the feminazis?" Nathan asked in shock, "You can't be here!"

"Oh, you must be the brains of the operation," Max said sarcastically as she moved to stand next to Chloe. Chloe smirked as she looked over at Max.

"A _Lock, Stock_ quote? Now?" Chloe asked. Max grinned, but didn't remove her glare from Nathan.

"Talk, Prescott," Max commanded.

"I'm not going to tell you shit-" Nathan sputtered before wincing again as Chloe smacked his bleeding nose.

"Like hell you're not! Fucking talk, _Asscott!_ " Chloe barked.

Nathan recoiled, his hands shielding his face as blood began to drip from his nostrils again. Not wanting to get hit again, Nathan began to whimper as he realized he wasn't leaving the shed until he told the two women everything he knew.

"I-I just set them up, okay? I-I get them loaded, and call the number. He does the rest! Please, just don't hit me again!" Nathan said as he began to shake.

" _WHO?"_ Max demanded. Not hearing an answer from the quivering boy standing before her, Max grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to the point of being inches away from her face. Chloe looked on in a mixture of shock and awe at the Max standing before her. _Shit, what has this girl seen to make her so hella furious?! Woman's like a force of fucking nature! Remind me never to piss my Max off!_

"J-j-" Nathan sputtered.

" _Jefferson_ ," Max finished, pushing Nathan back up against the sink with a thud. Max looked over at Chloe, her expression growing increasingly darker. Images of Rachel Amber and Kate Marsh from the photo books flashed through her head, Nathan Prescott drawing his gun on Chloe in the bathroom back in October, Kate on the roof of the girls' dorm. Like a flip-book, the images came one after the other and Max seethed. Grabbing Nathan's backpack lying next to the door, Max opened up all the pockets and dumped the contents on the floor, sifting through the papers and notebooks. Cringing at the disturbing drawings visible from some of the opened notebooks, Max continued searching through the contents. Finding nothing that made Nathan more incriminating, Max came back over to Chloe.

"Max! Whoa, whoa, I think he's had enough," Chloe said, holding Max back as the smaller woman clinched her fists and jaw as she tried to reach the still-bleeding Nathan. Cupping a hand over his nose, Nathan looked up at the two women standing in front of him with a mixture of fear and hate.

"Fucking feminazis, you broke my nose-"

"You're lucky I stopped _with_ your nose!" Max spat back, making Nathan cringe.

Continuing to hold Max back with one arm by clutching onto her, Chloe pulled out her phone with her free hand and began to dial. Both Max and Nathan turning their gaze toward the blue-haired punk, Chloe put the phone next to one of her ears.

"Yeah, Arcadia Bay Police? I'd like to report-" Chloe started to say, only to be pushed to the side as Nathan made a break for the door. Scrambling out of Chloe's arm, Max moved to go after him but Nathan was already out the door before Max could get a momentum going.

Running out onto the hilltop, Max's head swiveled back and forth in desperation as the now-absent Nathan was nowhere to be seen. Screaming, Max ran over to where the main path down the hill exited onto the hilltop, but couldn't see anyone. Running over to the lighthouse, Max checked to see if the door had been opened; the lighthouse remained locked away. Coming out of the shed herself, Chloe watched as Max appeared to flip out, kicking random objects on the ground and growling in rage. Finishing the call, Chloe put her phone away and moved over to the seething girl, clamping her hands on the other woman's shoulders.

"Max! Fuck, Max, calm down! You're gonna pop a brain cell or something, you're acting hella crazy!" Chloe said sternly, concern growing on her face. Max's darkened expression began to slowly subside, the gritting of teeth and growling replaced with a silence, and then Max fell to her knees as she began sobbing. Holding her hands up to her face, Max cried as Chloe held her. _Fuck_ , _I need_ my _Chloe! I miss you so much, Che, I miss you so fucking much._ Feeling the other Chloe begin to slowly rock her, Max sobbed for minutes as the recent events and the week from October began to culminate in her mind. _We thought it was over, we wanted it to be over. I hate this goddamn town, I fucking hate it. Che..._

"I-I'm sorry i-if I freaked you o-out," Max said as she lifted her head up to see the other Chloe, "I don't know what c-came over m-me."

"I can't imagine what you've seen, Max. Are you from some uber-apocalyptic Arcadia Bay or something? Are you an actual Mad Max in a legit thunderdome?" Chloe said, grinning slightly as Max stopped sniffling.

"No apocalypse, not yet anyway. Just a shitty Arcadia," Max said, chuckling weakly as she moved to stand up. Getting a hand from Chloe, Max brushed the dirt off of her jeans and looked at the bemused Chloe.

"You're fucking hardcore, Max. And for the record, a shitty Arcadia Bay is an everyday Arcadia Bay," Chloe said with a wry grin. The two women began to laugh as the sound of police cars from the bottom of the hill began to reach them.

Nathan Prescott didn't get far. Making it to his parents' house, Nathan dialed Mark Jefferson's phone number after locking himself in his bedroom. Not getting an answer, Nathan waited impatiently for the voicemail introduction to end.

"M-Mr. Jefferson? It's Nathan. Look, they'll be coming for you," Nathan said only to hear the beep of the recording start. Throwing his phone on the floor in frustration, Nathan cursed himself for his idiocy as the phone broke from the force of the throw and the impact of the floor. Nathan hurriedly grabbed a suitcase and began to stuff random articles of clothing into the luggage, then stuffed a roll of money from a lockbox under his bed into his pocket. Opening the window, Nathan was about to toss the suitcase onto the ground when he heard the sirens of the approaching police car. Cussing under his breath, Nathan threw the suitcase outside and hoisted himself over the window sill onto the ground. Scrambling for the money, having fallen out of his pocket, Nathan grabbed the suitcase and made a run for the woods behind his family's home.

Making it close to the treeline, Nathan felt his growing relief collapse as a "Freeze!" carried over from the direction of the house. Stopping in his tracks, Nathan slowly turned and saw two police officers running in his general direction. Panicking, Nathan's eyes darted back from the woods to the police officers, and back again. His whole body shaking, Nathan fell to his knees as the anxiety consumed his mind and the police cuffed his hands behind his back.

A police officer stood next to the bench at the lighthouse as Chloe and Max sat in silence. Trying to start a conversation at first, the two women found themselves feeling awkward in the midst of their situation, both with the police and each other. Trying to comfort Max, Chloe hand wrapped her arm around the other woman's shoulder only for Max to shift out of reach. Chloe looked forlorn as she watched Max look out towards the horizon with a sad expression on her face. _She's not my Max, but she_ is _a Max. Ugh, this is hella confusing! This shit with the photos and all that do not make the situation better, goddamnit. I don't just want to hold her and reassure her - I need her to reassure_ me.

"Max," Chloe spoke, her voice quiet, "Can you at least tell me how you're doing? I'm a fucking wreck, dude, and you're like a Max-sicle."

Looking over at Chloe, Max visibly sighed and felt her shoulders sag. Scooting next to the Chloe sitting by her, Max hesitantly placed her hand over the other woman's, smiling weakly up at her.

"I'm fucking broken, Chloe. It took two months, and I'm just _done_. I've seen people die, nearly been killed myself, and now I'm not even where I am supposed to be," Max said, feeling like she was going insane with the normally ludicrous nature of her predicament, "I'm just...I'm just done. I don't even know where to go from here."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that in either Arcadia Bay you have school tomorrow," Chloe said, softly elbowing Max in the side as she tried to get Max to laugh. Hearing a faint chuckle, Chloe felt a pang of sadness as a thought crossed her mind. "Are you...how are you going to get back?"

"I don't know, Chloe, I don't fucking know," Max said as she leaned her head over the back of the bench in exhaustion, staring up at the sky, "I don't even know _how_ I got here, only that I am here."

"Well...you can crash at my place tonight if you want," Chloe said, wondering if maybe she shouldn't have offered.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Max said in reply, a cautious tone to her voice.

"Dude, where else you going to stay? Blackwell?" Chloe asked, though her tone made the query more of a statement.

"You could always stay with me," Max said as she looked over at the other Chloe, "I...I just don't know." Max felt Chloe take her hands in her own, intertwining the fingers. Max almost pulled back from the contact, but stopped when she looked into the other Chloe's face. _Geez, Max, she's just trying to be nice. You're the one acting like a jerk._

Max let Chloe hoist her up and the two women talked to the police officer watching over them. After a lengthy discussion, Chloe managed to convince the officer to let them go stay at her place, provided they go to the police station in the morning for any further questions needed. Nodding and clapping the police officer on the back as Chloe walked Max away, Max turned around to see the officer look at them with a slightly irritated expression, then walk over to join the other police congregating near the shed as the evidence was taken away.

The drive back to Chloe's apartment was quiet, but the awkwardness was not so bad. _Friends, maybe, but_ only _friends_ , Max thought as she watched the Chloe sitting next to her drive. _She's a lot more open, more honest about her feelings. She's also hella awkward, but still pretty cool. Wowsers, what am_ I _like here, the other Max?_

"You okay, Max?" Chloe asked, then chuckled at the question, "Of course you're not okay. I'm not okay, you're not okay. This whole town is not-fucking-okay!"

"I've been better," Max replied with a laugh, feeling a little silly, "But hey, it's not everyday you uncover your teacher's collection of child porn."

"True. That's only a weekly affair-, holy shit," Chloe said as she slammed the brakes. Max nearly went head first into the dash when she looked up and felt her heart freeze in her chest.

Mark Jefferson was standing next to the door leading to Chloe's apartment, waiting. Hearing the brakes squeal, Jefferson started to run towards the car, his face without expression. Chloe put her car in reverse as Jefferson caught up with the vehicle, breaking the driver's side door window and trying to reach through the shards of glass for Chloe. Putting her foot on the gas, Chloe's hands jerked the steering wheel both right and left as she fought with Jefferson's grasping hands. Neither Chloe nor Max noticed the Gremlin swerving in the direction of a telephone pole until it was too late. Crashing hard, Chloe smacked her head against the steering wheel as Max braced her hands against the dash in the nick of time.

Slightly dazed, Max watched with blurred vision as Jefferson pulled open the driver's side door and began to drag Chloe out of the now-smoking vehicle. Coughing up bloody spittle, Max reached over for Chloe only to be struck across the face by a clenched fist. Becoming even more disoriented, Max feebly opened her car door and fell out onto the street. A crowd starting to gather from down the block, Max thought to signal someone for help but stopped when she saw Jefferson looming over the unconscious form of Chloe Price on the other side of the wrecked car. Struggling to get to her feet, Max watched as Jefferson place his hands on Chloe's throat, oblivious to the people beginning to run towards the wreck. Max could hear more than see Chloe choking as she begin to regain consciousness, then choked screams. Her head throbbing, Max instinctively reached out to grab Jefferson and watched as time slowed, then stopped.

 _No!_ Max thought, as her hand outstretched, _No! This isn't happening! Not again, I can't lose Chloe again! Oh Jesus, oh fuck!_ Feeling the throbbing in her head increasing, and a trickle of blood coming down her forehead, Max began to rewind time. A few seconds was all she needed, Max fought to keep her focus as she began to feel herself lose consciousness. Feeling like her brain was being ripped in half, Max winced as she pulled time back to the point of Jefferson pulling Chloe out of the car. Moving to stand behind him, Max unfroze time. Max swung her camera bag against the bent-over form of Mark Jefferson as he finished dragging Chloe out of the wrecked car, the surprise more than anything knocking him down for a moment.

Max followed up the camera bag with a kick to Jefferson's side. One kick, followed by a repetitive, Max struck the photography teacher in the side with her foot until he began to curl defensively inward. By that point, however, people had already made it to the wreck. Separating Max from the prone form of Mark Jefferson, the gathering people helped the waking Chloe to her feet and guide her to a storefront. Leaned against a glass display window, Chloe looked around in a haze, wondering what happened. Looking over to Max, Chloe expression went from confusion to fear as Max collapsed.

"Max!" Chloe yelled, running over to the unconscious woman. Getting no response, Chloe began to yell for help as she saw an ambulance begin to speed in their direction. "Max! Max, please! Please wake up!"

Max Caulfield couldn't feel _anything_. Everything was darkness. There was no sense of floating or falling, there was just the dark. Everywhere. _Am I dead?_ Max thought. Max couldn't be sure if she was even in her body, feeling more like only a thought than a person. _It's so dark. Am I even breathing? Am I moving? I can't feel my head turning?_

A ringing began to sound from somewhere, but Max couldn't place the location. The slight ringing grew in tone and volume until it was of a high enough pitch to register to Max as pain. With a twitch, Max felt her face for the first time, a grimace of pain as feeling began to return to her consciousness. _Cold, dry air. I feel so stiff,_ Mas thought as the sensation of touch returned. She didn't feel as though her body was moving, but as her senses returned she could detect that she was lying down in a bed and that she was covered up. Sound made Max wince further as everything sounded incredibly loud to her at first. As the sounds stopped bleeding into each other, Max began to discern voices. She couldn't recognize the voices, not yet, but an image of Chloe Price's face flitted across her mind, and she _felt_ her fingers begin to slowly curl. Images of her Chloe bled into images of the unconscious Chloe lying on the sidewalk next to a wrecked car, images of a long-haired Chloe smiling awkwardly at Max as she rested her hand on Max's. Looking up from the hand lying on top of hers, Max saw her Chloe looking back at her sweetly. Max heard herself begin to softly sob, and the voices she'd heard before grew in volume, feeling closer. Light began to pierce the darkness, the images, as Max felt her eyes begin to squint open. She thought back to her powers, the blindness that followed them, and was afraid that she _was_ blind. Feeling someone's hand on her face, Max felt her hand jerk up and latch onto the arm belonging to said hand.

"-uck, Max...-ight here, please c-", Max heard as voices began to break down into sounds, into words. The light began to dim, and for a moment Max thought that the darkness was returning only to feel relief as blurry shapes began to take form. Max's eyes darting in all directions, she watched as the forms started to take on colors and her eyes became fixated on a shade of blue on top of one of the blurry shapes. Reacting on impulse, Max felt her arms reach out in the direction of the blue and the dryness of her mouth as a single word emanated from her cracked, weak voice.

"Chloe...," Max whispered with an exhale, then felt as the shapes began to focus, her eyesight improving. Max could discern the outlines of people, of faces, and saw what looked to her like a smile across what she thought was the face of the person holding her hands.

"Y-yeah, Max. Yeah, it's Chloe," a voice replied, and Max could hear sobbing trailing behind the voice.

Images finally coming into total focus, Max felt her vision was like an aperture at first, like she was looking through a lens. Chloe, Kate, Dana, Juliet, her parents - they were all standing over her. Looking down for a moment, testing the blinking of her eyes, Max saw that she was lying in a hospital bed. Coughing as she took in a deep breath of air, Max laid her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes, then spoke.

"I'm...in the hospital," Max said, opening her eyes and looking up at the people gathered around her, "Oh, hey."

Dana cried as Juliet hugged her, with Kate whispering a prayer in thanks. Max's father wiped a tear from his eye while Max's mother smiled in relief, her eyes already puffy from crying. Chloe, still holding Max's hands, moved over to stand alongside the bed. Her beanie nowhere to be seen, Chloe's blue hair hung slightly over Chloe's forehead. Not seeing Chloe's eyes, Max tilted her head to see under the hair and watched as tears rolled down Chloe's face as the blue-haired woman fought back the urge to sob. Using Chloe's weight, Max pulled herself up while holding onto Chloe's hands and let herself fall over into Chloe's arms.

"Che," Max said weakly, wrapping her arms around the now-sobbing Chloe. Feeling the comfort, the familiarity, of Chloe's matching embrace, Max felt tears begin fall down her cheeks. Feeling Chloe's grip on her tighten, Max buried her face in Chloe shirt and took in the familiar scent.

"Fuck, Max, you're not allowed to pull this hospital shit again for _ever_ ," Chloe said, the sobbing now ceased, "Your hella crazy for wanting to come back here so much." Max choked as she laughed in reply, coughing a little as the dryness in her mouth made her voice crackle.

"What's a person gotta do to get a little attention around here?" Max returned in jest, feeling Chloe shake slightly as she chuckled at Max's joke.

"Stick to puns, nerd. You're weak at actual jokes," Chloe said, letting go of Max but still standing next to the bed. Max took a hand offered by Chloe and smiled softly as she intertwined her fingers in Chloe's.

"You're still a dork, but that's okay. I love you anyway," Max said, looking up at Chloe for a moment before observing the other people in the room watching the two of them. Blushing, Max let go of Chloe's hand and pulled the blanket over her head. Hearing some chuckling, Max peeked over the blanket to see the people gathered smiling.

"The doctors said you could wake up at any time," Dana said, arms intertwined with Juliet's, "But this was _way_ too terrifying. Seriously, Max, if you like hospitals so much then just tell us."

"When you didn't wake up, Kate called 911. She really took charge, Max. Even Victoria freaked out. We all thought you were dying, you got so pale," Juliet said, nodding toward Kate. Kate smiled with a sheepish grin and looked toward the window while fidgeting.

"I-I just wanted to make sure that Max was going to be okay," Kate said in embarrassment, "I just did as we were taught in the first aid class when school started." Kate moved over to the bed as Max reached toward her, and took the offered hand from the woman lying in the bed.

"Thank you, thank you so much," Max said, looking into Kate's eyes, then at everybody else. Frowning for a moment, Max looked at Kate again. "How long have I been here?"

"A couple days, sweetheart," Max's mother interjected, "We were so worried. Chloe called us before the school did, telling us to get down here as soon as we could."

"I called Chloe the second we realized you weren't just going to wake up," Dana said, "She got to Blackwell ahead of the ambulance, rode with you to the hospital. I think she actually growled when Mr. Madsen tried to sit in the ambulance."

Max looked up at Chloe and smirked. _Possessive, but sweetly so at times. Protective? Definitely._ Sitting back up, letting the blanket fall into her lap, Max stretched as everybody watched. Opening her eyes back up, Max felt like every movement was an exercise, then blushed again at the watchfulness of the other people in the room.

"I think Max's head may explode from all the blood rushing to her head if we don't disperse," Chloe said, then winced. "Oh shit, Max, bad joke-"

"It's okay, Che. I get what you meant. I-if it is alright with everybody, I'd like some time alone with Chloe," Max said, noting the look on her parents' faces, "Relax, Mom. I'm not going anywhere this time. I just want some private time with my girlfriend."

Max watched Chloe blush at the word "girlfriend". _Huh, we never really_ have _called each other that, have we Che?_ Max thought, tightening her hold on Chloe's hand. Realizing that Max was not going to be dissuaded, her parents left the hospital room, her friends knowing better than to try and stand between the two women at the hospital bed. The door closing behind Kate, Chloe took a seat on the edge of the bed, sitting alongside Max. Bending down, Chloe let Max cup her face with the small photographer's hands. Bending Chloe down just a little further, Max buried her face alongside Chloe's neck, taking in a deep breath of Chloe's hair. Opening her eyes, Max pushed Chloe back just enough that Max was a few inches from her girlfriend's face. Kissing Chloe with slow, gentle kisses, Max felt her mouth become less dry as the heat from Chloe's mouth passed into her own. Holding the last kiss for a moment longer than the others, Max broke their moment of intimacy and let Chloe recline in the bed next to her.

"Hey," Chloe said to Max, lying on her side. Max turned to face Chloe in response, smiling.

"Hey."

"Where did you go?" Chloe asked, brushing a strand of loose hair out of Max's face, then running her hands through the shortened hair along the side of Max's head. Chloe grinned as Max made a purring noise in response, then felt Max's tense up for a moment. Max's eyes shot open and Chloe felt the alarm in her girlfriend's body language.

"I-I was somewhere else. A different Arcadia. Everyone was there, but there were differences," Max began to trail off.

"Max-a-roon, I was kidding. Hello? Don't go Dorothy on me, babe," Chloe said, a concerned look beginning to form on her face.

 _Babe?_ Max thought, the events in the other Arcadia Bay beginning to play back in her mind. The other Chloe's face, so similar yet so different to her Chloe, flashed into focus in Max's thoughts. After that, Max felt the time there begin to play out and suddenly Max sat up so fast she nearly fell out of the bed. Braced by Chloe's hands on her shoulders, Max's eyes were wide open as she looked at the woman holding her.

"The shed next to the lighthouse," Max said, surprising Chloe with the steely tone in her voice, "The 'Dark Room', Chloe."

"What?" Chloe asked, confused.

"'Rachel in the Dark Room, Rachel in the Dark Room.' Nathan's drawing, the one in his expunged record. The shed is a darkroom, for photography," Max said, her voice faintly manic.

"Uh, and you know this how?"

"I was there. When I wasn't here," Max started, putting her hands to the sides of her head as she remembered the headache before the darkness took her, "The other Arcadia Bay. We broke into the shed. Chloe, it could still be there. I mean, it could still be here."

"What could still be here? The shed? The darkroom?" Chloe asked, her tone becoming increasingly serious.

"Proof, Chloe. Proof."


	5. Chapter 5

**Headshot**

"You're serious? Like, totally fucking serious?" Chloe asked Max as she sat back up, Max still lying in the hospital bed, "Dude, this is seriously uncool."

"Che, I'm not joking. I kinda wish I was, but I know what I saw. I was there. Remember when we spotted Nathan heading toward the shed, when we found the picture book on him? What if we'd let him go in, followed him inside? The shed is a darkroom, I'm sure of it," Max said, her mind running through the sequence of events at the other Arcadia's lighthouse.

Chloe looked at Max with a mixture of anxiety and frustration. _You've been out for two days, Max. Do you even know what the fuck you're talking about?_ Chloe thought, then sighed to herself. _Max wouldn't lie about something like this, but she got knocked on the head. Ugh, this shit is all hella crazy! Why the fuck can't we just be left the hell alone?_

"Max, I do want to believe you," Chloe said, taking Max's hand as she saw her girlfriend's heartbreaking expression of dismay, "I just...this all makes so little sense..."

"When does this crap _ever_ make any kind of sense?" Max shot back, her voice carrying a slight edge. Chloe slightly flinched at the biting tone, and Max instantly wished she hadn't said anything. "If you don't _want_ to believe me, fine. I can't make you. I wish you would, though."

"It's...you've been unconscious for _days_ , Max! You were in a coma, or some shit like it! Time powers, fucking alternate universes - what the fuck?! I need to process this, okay? You say you saw another me, in another Arcadia Bay, while I've been playing motherfucking nurse over your comatose ass. It's pretty heavy shit, Max," Chloe said, withdrawing her hand from Max's and getting out of the hospital bed.

"Che, Chloe, please don't do this to me, don't fucking leave me here," Max said, reaching for Chloe. Grabbing the sleeve of Chloe's jacket, Max held on with what strength she had. "I need you. I _need_ you."

Chloe thought back to the talk at their old fort in the woods, Max sleeping in her lap, and the times she had bailed on Max since they had gotten together. Chloe thought about the pained look on Max's face whenever they got into an argument, no matter who started it, and the tenseness that occasionally came along with their getting back together. Turning back around to take Max's outstretched hand in hers, Chloe kneeled down alongside the bed so that Max was looming over her slightly. _She's such a goddamn mess. Hell,_ I'm _a fucking mess, too. This town is a fucking curse, for both of us._

"I'm not going anywhere, Max, but dropping things like...like what you said on me is becoming a little too common. Yeah?" Chloe said, wiping a falling tear from Max's cheek. _Don't cry, Max. I'll fucking cry. You bring this shit out of me, the tears and the sweetness and such goddamn pain in my chest._

"I'm sorry," Max said, wiping the wetness from her eyes, "I don't mean to."

"I know. It's just-"

"A lot to process, yeah. For you and me both," Max said, a slight chuckle escaping her. Chloe gave Max a slight grin and stood up.

"So, SuperMax, the shed. An alternate...ugh, whatever. This is some serious shit," Chloe said, her voice even.

"Yeah. Heh, you would've laughed. I gave Nathan such a beatdown," Max said, chuckling again only to wince from the pain in her head, "Made him cry, probably broke his nose."

"You brat! You do this shit without me to see it? Pics or get the fuck out," Chloe replied, sharing in Max's humor.

Hearing the door creak open, Max and Chloe became silent as the other visitors returned. Kate brought Max a cup of water, which Max sipped at, with Dana and Juliet saying their goodbyes as the three students had to return to Blackwell.

"Do you know when she can come back to school?" Kate asked Max's parents, looking a little forlorn.

"Probably in a day or so," Max's father said, placing his hand on Kate's shoulder, "The doctors said they want to do some additional tests now that she's awake to make sure things are as okay as they seem." Kate smiled at that and nodded, then wished Max a speedy recovery. Dana and Juliet smiled and waved at Max, then the three women left the hospital room. Chloe still at Max's side, the Caulfields exchanged looks of concern before turning their attention to their daughter.

"Max, do you need anything?" Max's mother asked, her voice slightly cracking from worry.

"Uh, I should be okay. If I do, I know who to call," Max said, squeezing Chloe's hand. Chloe looked down at Max and smiled awkwardly, blushing ever so slightly.

"Okay. Well, your father has to return to Seattle tomorrow but I will stay in Arcadia until you're released from the hospital. Okay?" Max's mother said as she moved over to the unoccupied side of the hospital bed, softly kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Max, no escape attempts this time, okay?"

"It's only an attempt if you don't succeed, Mom," Max said wryly, eliciting a snicker from Chloe. Max's mother gave the two girls a strained smile and escorted her husband out into the hallway, closing the door behind them.

"I should probably get going, too, Max," Chloe said, kissing Max on the cheek, "Joyce will want an update and I need a shower. And maybe some sleep."

"And maybe something else?" Max asked, arching an eyebrow. When Chloe responded with a feigned expression of shock, Max chuckled. "Pothead."

"Tease."

"Stoner."

"Hipster."

"Shit-for-brains."

"Maxine Caulfield, is that any way to talk to your gallant hero?" Chloe said, failing miserably at sounding offended.

"You? I've saved your butt so many times I have to use my toes," Max responded, poking Chloe's side with a finger, "If anything, _you're_ the damsel-in-distress."

Sticking her tongue out, Chloe slapped her own butt with a remark of "You save it because you _love_ it" and flashed Max a grin before leaving the hospital room with her belongings. The door closing behind her, Max was alone with her thoughts. Seeing her clothes and camera bag on a dresser across from the bed, Max slowly got out of the hospital bed and retrieved her phone from the bag. Flipping through messages, Max blushed at the the well-wishes. Sending Chloe an emoji of a smiley face with its tongue sticking out, Max placed her phone on the bedside table and let the errant drowsiness she'd been avoiding take hold. Falling asleep, Max's conscious mind was nervous for a moment at the encroaching darkness before realizing that dreams would hopefully follow. _Dreams, not nightmares, okay?_ Max thought as her eyelids felt like they were weighted.

Waking up with the lights dimmed for the hospital's evening, Max felt her chest seize from visions in her sleep that she couldn't quite place. A blur, dreams of the tornado from October and the alternate Arcadia Bay, swam past her vision as she came out of her sleep-induced fugue state. Her sheets damp from sweat, Max pulled off the covers and climbed out of bed. Looking out the window, Max watched Arcadia Bay at night. The lights scattered in shadows twinkled intermittently, calm in appearance from the inside of the hospital. Max cracked open the window and felt the brisk air hit her face, her face momentarily cold as the air hit the sweat on her forehead. _You changed me, Arcadia Bay, or did I change you? 'With great power...' and all that crap. But I don't want these powers, so why me? Will I ever get that answer, the biggest question looming over me for months?_ Max thought of Chloe's reaction to her waking up, how her face was the first Max saw when her sight came into focus.

Moving to the bedside table, Max picked up her phone and check her text messages. Warren, Kate, Dana, Juliet; nearly her entire floor had wished her a quick recovery. _Wow, even Courtney. Of course, nothing from Victoria. Pff, whatever._ Going to the tab marked 'Chloe', Max read to herself the messages from the blue-haired wonder. _My chauffeur and faithful companion, my Che._ Max began typing, her fingers almost feeling like they were moving of their own volition.

 **Max: U there?**

 **Chloe: MAX!**

 **Max: lol hey**

 **Chloe: You should be sleeping, Max-a-roon.**

 **Max: Says the girl also awake at 2am**

 **Chloe: Touche, lady. What's up?**

 **Max: ...Che...**

 **Chloe: yes?**

 **Max: I fucking love you, do you know that?**

Max felt herself blush and grinned at the lack of immediate response. _Always a punk, Che. Leave a girl hanging, sheesh._

 **Chloe: I would hope so. I'd be help pissed if you didn't.**

 **Max: "help?"**

 **Chloe: fucking autocorrect. *hella**

 **Max: lol**

 **Chloe: ily**

 **Max: weak sauce**

 **Chloe: ?**

 **Max: Say it.**

 **Chloe: ...I love you, too. Fuck, Max. You know I do!**

 **Max: It's just nice to hear. Go to sleep. Coming tomorrow?**

 **Chloe: You have somewhere else I need to be?**

 **Max: lol goodnight dork**

 **Chloe: Goodnight nerd. Rest, goddamnit.**

Max laid the phone back on the bedside table and laid on the bed, leaving the covers off while lost in thought. The lighthouse, the shed, pervaded her mind. She hoped that when she left the other Chloe got her Max back. _She didn't deserve my bullshit, no one does. Sometimes, I wish I could just run. Take Chloe and just_ go, Max thought. Lying back with her hands interlocked behind her head, Max looked up at the ceiling, letting the random thoughts drift across her conscious mind until sleep started to return.

The next morning, Max took a shower and dressed in the clothes left behind. _Ha, Chloe_ , Max thought as she eyed the attire: pink and black flannel, her Jane shirt, blue jeans, and some beat-up combat boots. Changing, Max brushed her teeth and splashed her face with cold water, shaking off the last of the drowsiness. Laughing to herself at how weird it was to be so tired when she'd been unconscious for two days, Max barely noticed the knock at her door. Stepping out of the bathroom nearly froze when she saw her visitor.

"Uh, hey, Mr. Jefferson," Max said, trying to mask her surprise, "D-didn't know teachers made house calls. Or hospital visits."

"Well, when one of my brightest students comes out of whatever you had going on, I want to see how she's doing. How are you, Max?" Jefferson asked.

"Oh, my parents told me the hospital will likely discharge me tomorrow, maybe even today. I've got some tests." The other Nathan's admission rang through her mind, _It's J-jefferson!_ playing over in her head every time she looked at Mr. Jefferson.

"Sorry, Max, I should've asked you if it was okay for me to come and see you," Jefferson said, picking up on Max's discomfort.

"No, it's okay. But, uh, I think the doctors will probably be by soon."

The awkward pause that followed lingered, Jefferson staring out the window behind Max as she looked down at her feet. Pulling her longer hair into a ponytail, Max looked up at Mr. Jefferson hesitantly.

"Max, are you sure you're okay?" Jefferson asked, his tone questioning. "You know you can talk to me."

"S-sure. I'm just kinda out of it, y'know, head injury and all."

"Well, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Arcadia's finest medical facility," Jefferson said, grinning.

" _Only_ medical facility," Max said, trying to sound friendly.

Smiling before leaving the room, Jefferson told Max to feel better and left the room. Max put her hand to her chest as she took in several deep breaths. _Oh shit! Max, you're a lousy actor! Could you be_ less _suspicious?_ Grabbing her phone, Max opened up the messenger and let Chloe know that Jefferson had been at the hospital. Max's hands began to shake and she stuffed her phone in her pocket, leaning against the hospital bed while trying to calm herself down. She didn't notice the vibration of her phone as Chloe responded, Max was so anxious. When Chloe arrived at the hospital about ten minutes later, Max had calmed down enough that the shaking was gone. Nonetheless, the second Chloe was through the door Max was in her arms, her breathing slightly frantic.

"Dude, answer your phone," Chloe said, surprised with the suddenness of Max's hugging, "Jefferson was here, huh? How'd that go?"

"Chlo," Max said, her face half-buried in Chloe's jacket, "Ugh, I can't act to save my life."

"Shhh. Seriously, Max, you bring the worst shit with you. Why do I hang with you?" Chloe asked, grinning down as Max looked up to her.

"Ugh," Max uttered, playfully punching Chloe in the shoulder, "I think we do more than 'hang', Che, and you put up with it because you _love_ me." Max grinned in victory as Chloe's face went red and the taller woman looked away.

Pulling Chloe along behind her, Max sat down on the hospital bed with Chloe taking a seat next to her. Max listened to Chloe as she filled in some of the events that happened while she'd been out of it. Conveying Joyce's well-wishes, Chloe talked about the hospital staff giving her a hard time for refusing to leave Max's room for the two days Max had been unconscious, how she'd frantically called Max's parents after Kate had messaged her. Listening, Max grinned as Chloe animatedly described the events leading to Max waking up. Finishing her story, Chloe fell back onto the hospital bed. Pulling Max down with her, Chloe pulled Max close to her and rested her chin on top of Max's head. A comfortable silence permeating the small room, Chloe and Max closed their eyes and enjoyed being together. _Max-fucking-Caulfield, you force of nature. You hella crazy little nerd,_ Chloe thought as she opened her eyes after a few minutes, seeing Max's pensive facial expression.

"What are you thinking, Max?" Chloe asked, brushing blue hair out of her face.

"The shed at the lighthouse," Max said, moving to sit up. When Chloe pulled her back down, Max grinned and laid on her side to face Chloe, "I will tickle you, Chloe Elizabeth Price."

"Dude, I'm hella taller than you," Chloe said, smirking with an eyebrow arched.

"Chlo, we need to investigate the lighthouse."

"I know, Max. I know we do. I just-"

"Just what?" Max asked, looking at Chloe's concerned expression.

"I can't lose you again, Max. Too many times, okay? You fucking _wink from existence_ , pop back up only to repeat it, and now you were unconscious for two days. Never mind the five years," Chloe said, bending her head to touch Max's forehead with her own. _Dude, you will_ not _fucking cry,_ Chloe thought to herself, _Be strong. For her._

"And I don't want to lose you, Che," Max said, thinking of how painful and awkward it had been with the other Chloe, "Life without you, it's weird."

"So, let's just go back to my room and get hella trashed, yeah? Some beer, some grass, some _us time_ ," Chloe said, placing a hand on Max's hip.

"I want to, Chloe, believe that I do. But what we're doing, what we need to do, is important," Max said, intertwining her fingers with the hand Chloe placed on her hip.

"You're such a mood killer, Caulfield," Chloe said, rolling her eyes as she sat up. Max holding out her arms, Chloe huffed in fake irritation as she pulled the other woman up, "We'll check it out when you get released. Okay?"

"Okay," Max said, kissing Chloe on the cheek as a nurse entered the hospital room.

Chloe had tried to stick around for Max's tests, but the hospital staff had been adamant that she wasn't allowed in those areas of the hospital. Kissing Chloe before the taller woman left, Max told her to come by later, that she'd message Chloe when everything was over. Watching her girlfriend leave, Max felt a pang of sadness as she was led off to the first in what would be a battery of tests. Max lost track of time as she was led from one room to another, either to talk to a doctor or to be scanned by medical equipment.

Finished, Max was escorted back to her hospital room by around noon. Grabbing her phone, she opened up her inbox to see that Chloe had messaged her, that she'd be by later. Max went to her camera bag and grabbed her earbuds, plugging them into the phone as she listened to the acoustic version of Eyes Set to Kill's _"_ The World Outside". Singing the lyrics to herself as she lay back in the bed, Max allowed herself a moment to relax. Eyes closed, Max felt like she was spiraling. Max thought of Chloe, her friends, and her family. Drawing some measure of comfort from thoughts of the people who cared for her, Max didn't notice the doctor come into the room until he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Wowsers!" Max cried, jumping at the suddenness, "Oh, uh, sorry."

"How are you, Max?" the doctor asked in a bemused tone.

"Alright, I guess. Will I get to leave tomorrow?" Max asked.

"Well, we're actually ready to draw up papers for your release now if you'd like."

"Whoa, for cereal?" Max asked as she slid off the bed. Grabbing her belongings, Max stuffed everything into her camera bag. The doctor chuckled at her enthusiasm, "I've only been done for, like, minutes."

"Ms. Caulfield, you've been done for hours," the doctor said, confused. Pointing to the clock on the wall, Max saw that it was evening already. _Shit_ , Max thought, _Chloe's probably pissed._

Pulling out her phone as she walked next to the doctor towards the admissions desk, Max was irritated by her now-dead phone. Looking through her bag, Max couldn't find a charger, and the irritation turned to frustration. Not paying attention, Max signed the release forms absentmindedly. Using the phone at the desk, Max dialed up Chloe's phone number only to get her voicemail. Leaving a message that she was heading to Chloe's house, Max waited outside for the bus, their plan to investigate the lighthouse prominent in her train of thought. Climbing into the bus, Max rubbed her hands to regain some warmth as the evening brought a chill. Sitting alone, Max's thoughts drifted as she looked out the window during the drive towards the bus stop near Chloe's house.

Arriving after around ten minutes, Max walked hurriedly towards Chloe's house. Reaching the front door, Max noticed the truck was gone. Wondering where Chloe was, Max knocked and was greeted by Joyce.

"Well, Max Caulfield. You gave us quite the scare," Joyce said warmly, then looked outside as she let Max in, "Where's Chloe? I figured you two would be joined at the wrist by now."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, puzzled.

"Well, she sent me a text message this afternoon, saying that she was going to be with you at the hospital," Joyce said in a matter-of-fact tone. Max felt a sense of dread start to creep into her.

"Oh, uh, she's getting food. She asked me to, um, grab some stuff and meet her back at my dorm room," Max said, feeling bad that she lied and doubly bad as the dread continued to move through her, "I'm just going to grab some things from her room, okay?"

Gesturing toward the staircase, Joyce flashed Max a grin and made her way back into the kitchen. Max vaulted the stairs two at a time until she was at Chloe's door. Almost knocking, Max slowly opened the door in the hope that Chloe was just passed out. The Christmas lights still on, Max saw in the dimly lit room that she was alone. Max flipped on the ceiling light and began to sift through the pile of random stuff on Chloe's desk. _We really need to organize your shit, Chloe, before your desk is consumed by the creature on it_ , Max thought as she flipped through papers and books.

Max continued her search in Chloe's room for a few more minutes when the image of the lighthouse popped into her head. Grabbing a black leather jacket off of Chloe's bed, Max walked back down the stairway as David came home. David looked her over, then nodded in greeting and hung his coat up next to the door. Seeing Joyce pop her head out of the kitchen, Max flashed her a quick grin as Joyce turned her attention back to the kitchen with David following her. Waiting a moment to make sure Joyce and David weren't paying her any attention, Max carefully searched the contents of David's jacket. Wrapping her small hands around the spare keys to Blackwell, Max thought to herself _Just in case_ as she told Joyce that she was taking off.

Running to the bus stop, Max nearly missed the approaching bus. Hopping back on, Max waited anxiously as the bus drove through Arcadia Bay. Nearly jumping out of her seat at every stop, Max felt relieved when the bus finally arrived at the foot of the hill leading up to the lighthouse. Nearly running out of the bus, Max spotted Chloe's truck instantly and made a beeline for the old vehicle. Looking through the window, Max had a hard time seeing with only a single street light illuminating the small parking area, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Shit, Chloe, where are you?" Max thought aloud, rubbing her hands together. Sticking her hands inside the long sleeves of Chloe's jacket, Max tried the driver's side door only to find it locked. Moving over to the passenger side, Max grinned as the door swung open from Max's effort. "Wow, Chloe, way to keep your shit safe."

Finding a small car charger plugged into the truck's lighter socket, Max tried to plug her phone in only to find the connections didn't fit. Frustrated, Max grabbed a flashlight underneath the bench seat in the truck and closed the passenger side door as she began to briskly walk up the hill. As Max made her way up the lighthouse path, her mind began to play tricks on her in the woods, shadows turning into figments of events from last October. Walking faster, Max focused her attention on the path ahead of her as the lighthouse began to loom overhead.

"Where are you, Che?" Max quietly asked aloud as she reached the top of the hill, the lighthouse directly ahead. Seeing the abandoned shed, Max began to approach it when she noticed the door was cracked open. Running over to the decrepit building, Max gingerly pushed the apparently broken door open, noticing what looked like scratch marks along the doorframe. _Someone broke in?_ Max thought, then rolled her eyes as she realized it was probably Chloe. _You were supposed to wait, Chloe. Because it's perfectly safe to enter what could possibly be the den of a criminal mastermind. Or whatever._

Finding the light switch, Max flipped on the lights and felt her heart slightly lurch as a familiar red light dimly illuminated the interior of the shed. While some of the contents were different from the other shed, Max took note of the sinks and the shelves. Someone _had_ been using this place for something, but unlike the other shed there wasn't any actual evidence. Max stepped closer to the sinks and counter when she felt herself step on something soft. Having not paid any attention to where her feet were, Max looked down and saw a hat. A beanie.

 _Oh fuck, oh fuck. Is this Chloe's?_ Max thought as she shone the flashlight down to the floor. The dark blue was too familiar, and Max numbly bent down and picked up the discarded hat. Stuffing the hat into a jacket pocket, Max felt her anxiety begin to increase as she searched the shed. No memory cards, no rolls of film, nothing; Max clenched her fists as the frustration and anxiety mingled together, building up to anger. Max turned to leave the shed when a slight glare reflected off of her flashlight. Looking down, Max saw something wedged between the one of the shed's walls and the empty storage locker. Max knelt down and reached for the source of the glare, and pulled out a photo.

The photo seemed to be old, the edges worn, but the image Max on the photo was all too familiar to her. A nude woman was lying on something, the background faded to black. Max remembered the pictures left for her and scrutinized the one she held with the other two. _It's the same girl_ , Max thought after a couple minutes of examination, _This is what she looks like without my head copy-pasted onto hers._ Looking at the face more carefully, Max thought she looked familiar. _Where have I seen this before?_ Max stopped breathing as the image of a display flashed into her mind, one of the exhibition displays at Blackwell's main courtyard. A young woman, scantily-clad, in black and white. _One of Mr. Jefferson's models_ , Max realized.

Max doesn't remember how she got down to the truck, only that the picture and then suddenly being in the truck. _Am I in shock?_ Max thought as she turned to look at the lighthouse path from the driver's seat of Chloe's truck. Max tried to remember the trip down the path, but could only recall the current panic in her chest. Taking David's keys out, Max flipped through the spare Blackwell set and grinned when she saw what looked like a car key. _Can't stop being paranoid, David. At least this time it comes in handy_ , Max thought as she put the key into the ignition and exhaled in relief as the truck started up. Not having driven in a few months, Max adjusted the truck seat to accommodate her smaller stature and pulled out of the parking lot. Speeding down the side streets and alleys of Arcadia Bay, Max's worry grew as she pulled onto the main street leading to Blackwell Academy.

Pulling into the parking lot, Max ran towards the main courtyard when she noticed a beam of light coming from down the sidewalk next to her, a security guard turning the corner from the gym. Picking up her pace, Max sprinted to the entrance to Blackwell Academy and began to try the keys. After a few failures, Max finally unlocked the main door and carefully slid herself inside as the beam of light turned into the main courtyard. Locking the door behind her, Max clenched her fist in a small display of triumph. _Yes! I_ am _the Blackwell Ninja!_ Max thought as she made her way down the hall toward the photography lab.

Entering the lab, Max scanned the empty classroom for anything overtly suspicious. Finding nothing with a glance at the classroom itself, Max made her way over to the computer in the back of the room which Mr. Jefferson had used. Pressing a key, Max grunts in irritation at finding the computer password-protected and moves back to the front of the room towards the teacher's desk. Max tried to open the main drawer but the lock wouldn't budge, the drawers with locks containing random classroom materials. Looking across the room, Max noticed the tripods in back and moved away from the desk but scurried under it as she heard a faint voice approach.

"...so you can imagine my degree of surprise in finding someone at such an old location. I mean, I hadn't been there in months. When I happen to go up there and find you, Ms. Price, I admit I was rather perplexed," the voice spoke in an even tone as the door to the classroom opened. Max squeezed herself into a corner of the space underneath the desk and breathed as quietly as possible.

"I would ask you what brought you up there, but then I remembered that you were close to Rachel. Oh, Ms. Price, you shouldn't try to move too much. You might make the fracture worse," Jefferson said as Max heard a muffled, pained reply. _Chloe_? _Fuck!_

Max heard the sound of something heavy being placed on one of the tables and then held her breath when the sounds suddenly stopped. Her eyes stared at the space leading out from the desk into the classroom, dread sweeping over her.

"I really wish the security guards wouldn't try to access my computer. It is password-protected for a reason," Jefferson said, then Max heard a clicking noise she associated with the computer being switched off.

Max heard a metallic thud as something was placed gently on another table and a rustling sound as Jefferson went through a bag. Hesitantly, Max peeked from around the corner and saw Jefferson begin to set up small lights on one of the desks in the middle of the room, framing the restrained Chloe Price in the dim illumination with lights placed on the desk's corners. Hands bound behind her back, Chloe's mouth was duct-taped shut and Max could see her left forearm bent slightly in a way that shouldn't be possible. A desk near the window had a small bag on it, and Max's eyes focused in with sharp clarity on the object that sat next to the bag - a handgun.

Max felt her eyes begin to burn and reflexively pulled herself back under the desk. Blinking her eyes multiple times, Max wiped at her face and watched as multiple scenarios played out before her. Max watched one Chloe have something injected into her arm, which resulted in her eyes rolling into the back of her head as Jefferson began to remove her clothing. In another, Chloe was knocked unconscious by Jefferson after having squirmed off the desk. The final apparition was Chloe crying, sobs muffled by the tape on her mouth as she screamed with what looked like blood spraying on her face.

Max felt like the entire world was slowing down as she slowly climbed out from under the desk. With Jefferson's attention focused on Chloe, faced away from the front of the classroom, Max tip-toed to where the bag was and grabbed the gun. Max felt her stomach lurch as she hefted the handgun, a Beretta, and moved back a couple steps on the opposite side of the desks from Jefferson.

"Stop," Max said, her voice cold as she looked over Jefferson's shoulder at Chloe's state. Max watched as both Jefferson and Chloe took note of someone else being in the room, Chloe's eyes widening as she saw the small form of Max Caulfield standing across the room with a gun in her hand. Jefferson, seeing Max, slowly stood up with his hands raised.

"Max, you really are far brighter than you lead on," Jefferson said, his tone even, "I knew you were a skilled photographer, but to actually find me? Very adept."

"Stay back. I mean it," Max said as Jefferson took a half-step in Max's direction. Max fought to keep her hands from shaking. "I said _stop_!"

"Ms. Caulfield," Jefferson said, his advance halted, "You really should put the gun down. You're not the type to hold something so...unwieldy, at least for you. You're going to get someone hurt. What if you miss, if you hit Ms. Price? She's important to you, is she not?"

"You're trying to convince me not to shoot you? Do you even care about what you've done, what you were in the middle of doing?" Max asked, her anger and grief gave way to tears.

"They're just subjects, points of interest. I see something beautiful, something unique, and I must capture it. Hold it, in my lens, and contain the beauty so that my photos represent the subject at it's peak," Jefferson said. His enthusiasm made Max's skin crawl.

"Y-you're a sociopath," Max said, her lips curled in disgust, "What about Rachel? What about Kate? Are we all just playthings? _I said stop_!" Max shouted, seeing Jefferson take a step in her direction. Jefferson now stood at the side of the desks, Max only two paces away. Jefferson, hands still raised, moved to stand in front of the desks, facing Max with Chloe on the desk behind him. Max could hear Chloe's muffled voice but couldn't make out anything.

"Max, please, just put the gun down," Jefferson said, "There's no need for violence. The gun is a precautionary measure. There isn't even a round-"

 _Click_.

Max watched Jefferson freeze as Max pulled back the hammer of the Beretta. _Thank you, Chloe, for showing me your stupid gun videos. Well, not so fucking stupid now, I guess._ Raising the gun to eye level, Max shifted to a shooting posture. Max felt the gun in her hand, warm from her vice-like hold. Max felt her heartbeat begin to increase as her muscles alternated between tensed and relaxed from the anxiety flooding her being. Jefferson was still talking, but Max wasn't listening anymore. Her concentration broke for a moment as she thought of Nathan shooting Chloe, Kate nearly committing suicide, the photo books, and Chloe's heartbreak about Rachel Amber. Feeling her breathing stop, Max watched as Jefferson tried to make a move toward Max, the once-admired teacher having picked up on Max's distracted state. Her eyes narrowing to slits, Max aimed the gun and fired. Chloe screamed as drops of blood hit her face.

The security guard was the first to arrive on the scene, nearly losing whatever he had eaten that evening at the sight in the photography classroom. Calling in the scene before him over the radio, the guard quickly pulled out his phone and called the police. Standing by the door, the security guard kept watch over the display before him as he waited for the police.

There were two girls and what looked like one of the teachers. The nearer of the three, a brunette, was kneeling on the floor, her eyes vacant with tears streaming down her cheeks. She wasn't sobbing or making any other noise; she just stared directly in front of her. The older of the three, a male brunette Caucasian, was unconscious on the floor, a large gash across the right side of his head, a small pool of blood emanating from the nasty flesh wound. The guard assumed he was unconscious due to shock. The third girl, blue-haired, was cradling one arm while sitting near the other girl, crying. The blue-haired girl seemed to be trying to get a response out of the brunette, but the other girl just wouldn't speak.

The police arrived in minutes, followed by the head of Blackwell's security. The security guard had never seen such a look of shock on his boss's face as David Madsen pushed against the cops to try and reach his stepdaughter. The struggle drew Chloe's attention and she looked up at David, no expression on her face, then back at Max Caulfield. Max hadn't moved since she fell to her knees on the classroom floor, the gun taken from her hand by police officers. Escorted by the police, Max and Chloe were walked to a squad car while the police and EMTs began to process the scene and take Mark Jefferson away on a stretcher to an ambulance parked along the sidewalk. Having gained the attention of the students, Chloe looked out the car window as a group of teenagers from both the dormitories began to form on the other side of the locked fence. Seeing Kate, Chloe looked away when she saw Kate spot her blue hair. Chloe turned her attention to Max, who still hadn't responded to anyone.

"Max, _please,_ snap out of it," Chloe asked, her voice cracked from crying in the classroom. Her broken forearm bandaged and in a sling, Chloe used her good hand to shake Max, "Fucking wake up, Max. C'mon, goddamnit, wake up!" Chloe thought she might cry again, not getting a response from Max. "I need you, Max. Shit's gone downhill and _I fucking need you_ ," Chloe said softly, what strength she had waning as another bought of tears began to rear it's head.

Chloe nearly jumped at the sudden intake of breath emanating from her girlfriend, and felt a measure of relief as Max began to look around in confusion. Seeing Chloe sitting next to her, noticing the sling, Max's eyes immediately began to tear up as the events from inside the school resurfaced to her mind.

"Oh God, Che, oh my fucking God," Max said as she wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck in a tight hug. Hearing Chloe wince in pain, Max pulled back and laid her forehead against Chloe's, tears running down her cheeks. "I thought I was going to lose you, you were nowhere to be found! I couldn't find you!"

"Hey, you found me, Max. I'm right here. You hella saved me, my knight in nerdy armor," Chloe said, kissing Max multiple times on the cheek.

"W-why, Chloe, _why_ did you go alone?" Max asked with a pleading tone, "W-why couldn't you w-wait for me? You could have died!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, Max. I'm fucking stupid," Chloe said, feeling crestfallen, "I-I just fucking went. I didn't think-"

"You didn't _think_ , dork. Together. Forever," Max said as she fought to not sound pissed, "You. Don't. _Ever._ Do. This. Again." Max jabbed Chloe's chest with every pause between words.

"There won't be an 'again', though, right?" Chloe asked as Max looked into her eyes, "Please tell me there won't be a next time."

Max looked behind Chloe, out the car window. Watching the ambulance pull away, Max saw police officers heading toward the car.

"Chlo, did I-I-," Max began, terror rising.

"Holy shit, no. No, Max. You didn't kill him. You came fucking close, Jesus fuck, you came _really_ fucking close. Where the hell were you aiming?" Chloe asked as she shivered at the memory of the classroom, Max pulling the trigger and her face dampened by the blood of Jefferson.

"I...I don't remember. I don't think I actually aimed, I just pulled the trigger," Max said, her voice devoid of emotion at the memory.

"Dude, I am _never_ getting you pissed. Well, I'm going to try harder not to." Chloe winced instinctively as Max slapped her on her good arm.

"Not funny, Che," Max retorted, then scooted over so that she was sitting right next to Chloe. The taller woman slouching in the back seat of the police car, Chloe laid her head on Max's shoulder as two police officers entered the car. The officer in the passenger seat turned to look at the two young women.

"We're taking _you_ to the hospital first," the officer indicated to Chloe, then she nodded at Max, "You will be coming to the station with us. We've got some questions. We'll be back for your friend as soon as the doctors set that fracture."

Max spent that evening and nearly all of the next day at the police station, answering questions and asking a few of her own. While the officers wouldn't tell her specifics of the growing case, they told Max that materials had been found at Jefferson's house that painted a 'long, nasty picture'. After her last round of questioning, Max had been given permission to use a phone. Calling her mother, who was still in Arcadia Bay, Max explained vaguely what had transpired in the last 24 hours. Her mother showing up mere minutes later, Max cried in her mother's arms for a few minutes before going into a more reasonable telling of events. Max watched as her mother's face paled, and Max had to steady her mother to ensure she didn't faint. Max went to the vending machine to get them something to drink when she saw Chloe come through the station's front entrance.

Wearing a hooded jacket, Chloe was led into the station by Joyce and David, her injured arm now in a more suitable cast and sling. Max wanted to call out to her but all three were ushered into a room across the bullpen of the police station. Collecting the sodas from the vending machine, Max returned to her mother and sat with her, absently sipping the soda.

"Max? What is it?" Max's mother asked, her hand laid on top of her daughter's.

"I saw Chloe," Max said, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Max looked over at her mother and saw the look of concern on her face, tried to smile reassuringly but noticed her mother's attention was diverted to something behind Max. Turning in her seat, Max looked over to see Chloe absently looking at the vending machine, sneaking peeks over towards the Caulfields. Feeling her mother nudge her in Chloe's direction, Max walked over to the vending machine and grabbed the soda from the machine's dispenser. Max handed the soda to Chloe, who looked at her for a moment before kissing Max hard on the lips. No passion, no lust, Max felt that it was a kiss of love and desperation.

"I missed you too, Che," Max said as they broke the kiss, Max standing on her tip-toes to gently bump foreheads with Chloe.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked, not caring how stupid the question sounded.

"Are you?" Max asked in return, concern spread across her face.

"Meh. Battle scars, dude. I'm hella tough, y'know," Chloe said, smiling weakly.

"Yeah, Chloe, you're hella fucking tough," Max said with a slight chuckle, "Are you going to be here long? I think they're going to cut me loose soon. For now, anyway."

"A cop took my statement at the hospital when I came out of the ER. The fracture didn't break the skin so they just set the bone. Would've been fucking nice if I'd gotten some painkillers, though. Shit was a fucking bitch," Chloe said as she wiggled her injured forearm slightly and breathed through gritted teeth as a result of the movement, "We're here for some follow-up and shit with my folks."

"Nice language, Professor Price. Clearly you know all the Englishes," Max said in a joking manner.

"Shush, nerd."

"Dork."

"Jackass."

"Dumbass."

"Hipster."

"...I love you, Chloe," Max said, interrupting Chloe's train of thought. Chloe just looked at Max for a moment before setting her soda on top of the machine, then took one of Max's hands in her own.

"I love you, too. Keep saving my life?" Chloe asked, kissing Max lovingly.

"As many times as I can, Che. Just keep being in mine, okay?" Max said as she nuzzled Chloe's neck.

Max returned to Blackwell the following Friday. Against her parents' strong suggestion, Max had decided to continue attending the school, but some things had changed. The Caulfields met with the interim principal, Wells having resigned, and an agreement had been made regarding Max's placement at Blackwell Academy. Max would continue to attend classes once the Spring semester started, and she was given special permission to live off-campus. The portion of her scholarship devoted to lodging would be released monthly as a stipend for Max to use for her own housing. The interim principal, Max didn't remember her name, spoke repeatedly about how regretful the entire incident was and also how proud the school board was to have such a brave student in their academy. Max thought she'd be sick.

Her parents and Chloe's parents having cleared out most of her room, Max didn't really want to go to the dorm. She knew she had to, though, and made her way among the looks and stares of other Blackwell students as she walked toward the girls' dormitory. Her hair now cut in a pixie fashion, Max was wearing her Jane t-shirt under the same leather jacket she'd taken from Chloe's room nights ago with the blue jeans and combat boots Chloe had bought her. The students she didn't know gave Max a wide birth as she made her way across the courtyard to the breezeway and girls' dorm, the ones who did know her waving awkwardly as she walked by. Max acknowledged some, but ignored most of the other students, trying to focus her attention directly ahead of her. Max chuckled to herself as she realized that Warren hadn't tried to pop up on her, not having seen him yet.

Entering the dorm, Max slowly climbed the stairs leading to her floor. Standing at the door, Max thought for a moment about saying "Fuck it" and leaving what few things she had left in her room behind to collect later. Thinking of the friends she'd made on her floor, though, made Max realize she needed to see them. _It's not like I won't be back,_ Max thought, _But I won't live here anymore. I can't._ Max thought of the future therapy sessions that awaited her, her _and_ Chloe. For Max, the therapy was another condition of her still attending Blackwell. A result of the combined encouragement of the interim principal and her parents, Max rolled her eyes at the thought of talking to a therapist but knew she would need it. She had woken up every night since the shooting in a cold sweat, looking over at Chloe only to see fear in her eyes as well. Sighing, Max opened the door to the hall and stepped inside.

"Max! Oh my god!" Kate said as she ran from Dana's doorway to hug Max, "Thank God you're okay! How's Chloe? Is she okay? Some people came to your room and started boxing your stuff away! Why haven't you called?"

"Whoa, Kate. Whoa," Max said as she returned the hug. Max watched as Alyssa and Brooke looked at her nervously, then glanced down at their phones, "I'm sorry, Kate. I've just...it's been a rough fucking week."

Kate broke the hug and looked at Max in earnest, concerned. Max felt her cheeks begin to redden as she felt Kate almost look through her. Kate placed her hands in Max's and sounded like she might cry when she next spoke.

"Max, don't ever let yourself be put in a position like that again. You or Chloe, just don't," Kate said with a seriousness in her voice.

Max tried to nod reassuringly, then was caught up in a double hug from Dana and Juliet. Max patted the two women on the back as she felt them sob, then pulled back as they began to talk.

"Please don't scare us like that again, Max. We-," Dana started.

"-heard about everything, saw some of it from the gate that night. We pieced it all together, the thing with Nathan and Mr. Jefferson. _You_ and Chloe were the ones who outed Nathan, weren't you?" Juliet asked, getting a slightly irked look from Dana for interrupting her.

"No comment," Max replied with a slight grin, "I know better than to talk to the press."

Juliet looked taken aback for a moment before realizing that Max was only teasing. Dana chuckled at Juliet's momentary shock before she kissed Max on the forehead and looked at the shorter girl appraisingly.

"I like the newer look, Max," Dana said, "But seriously, Max. What's going on? We were talking about it with Kate. Are you moving out?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll still be attending Blackwell, when the winter break is over, but part of the agreement my parents made with the school is that I'll get to live off-campus," Max said with a shy tone. _I feel so bad about this, about not being here with them every day anymore, but I_ need _this._

"Well," Juliet said as Kate and Dana took Max's words in, "Will you at least come visit us? I mean, keeping in touch is already mandatory, so visits are a minimum requirement."

"Of course I'll come visit!" Max said, grinning, "I'll be living in town, not on the moon. Of course I will visit."

Breaking away from the trio after a few more minutes of discussion, Max continued down the hall toward what was once her room. Max looked surprised when Taylor came up to her from the direction of Victoria's room and hugged her.

"Shit, Max! You're leaving?" Taylor asked while still hugging Max.

"Uh, I'm only moving out. I get to stay in Blackwell," Max said, feeling some of her breath being squeezed out from Taylor's vice grip, "Where are Courtney and Victoria?"

"They shut themselves in Victoria's room when word spread that you were coming back today," Taylor said as she let Max go, "Victoria is pretty shaken up about the whole Jefferson thing."

"I can only imagine," Max said, trying to sound interested.

"Yeah, well, it definitely knocked her down a peg. She'll recover, she's Victoria, but it'll take a bit for her to adjust," Taylor said awkwardly, having caught Max's feigned interest in Victoria, "I'll let you get back to what you were doing. Just...just keep in touch, yeah?"

"I will, Taylor. You're very sweet...when you want to be," Max said, grinning as Taylor playfully slapped Max on the shoulder and walked to her own room.

Max's room was nearly empty. Only a few personal mementos remained. Grabbing a leftover packing box, Max began to take down her memorial photo wall, gently removing each picture and placing them in stacks inside the box. Max took a moment to reminisce at the memories in each photo, those from Seattle and here in Arcadia Bay. _I feel like a different person, not grown but changed. Tornadoes, powers, love - I've been shaped by and have shaped the world around me. Wowsers,_ Max thought as she looked at a selfie she took her first day at Blackwell, _I look so...so innocent. I kinda miss that, but I wouldn't go back even if I still could._ Having packed up the other pictures on her walls and the books left behind, Max set the box down as her phone went off. Max pulled the phone out of a pocket in her jacket and saw a message from Chloe.

 **Chloe: Max-a-roon, the spare room is now fully nerdified.**

 **Chloe: When u coming home, lady?**

Max grinned and typed back a quick response, then looked around the now-emptied room one last time. _Life is fucking strange, but when isn't it?_ Max thought as she grabbed the box and shut the door behind her.

 **Author's Note** _ **-**_ This concludes "The Power is On". I left the ending open because I would like to wrap this AU up with a third story, maybe, but I closed the story enough to my satisfaction that I can walk from this and feel like I did my narrative justice.

I would like to thank everybody who has read "Rebel Girl" and/or this fic. What started as me just putting down my personal headcannon became an honest-to-Dog journey, and your reviews and comments both here and on my Tumblr made it all the more worthwhile.

I have some ideas for one-shots in my mind, and already have one plotted out. Like I said, I would _like_ to write another story in the AU I've created; if I don't, I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did making it. Hella fucking hella.

Tumblr - noitsmahcookie


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